Uganda Bombings ‘Only the Beginning’ :Al-Shabab Leader

July 15, 2010 | Posted by ocean |

(CNN) — Al-Shabaab, the Somali militant group allied to al Qaeda which claimed responsibility for Sunday’s deadly bombings in Uganda, has promised to “unleash a new tide of terror.”

“This is only the beginning,” the group said in a statement on the internet Thursday.

Al-Shabaab, meaning “the youth” in Arabic, claimed responsibility for the bombings at

two locations in the Ugandan capital of Kampala that killed 76 people.

The attackers struck an Ethiopian restaurant in a neighborhood dotted with bars and popular among expatriates.

Two other bombs exploded at a rugby center.

t1larg.demonstration.afp.gi Uganda Bombings Only the Beginning :Al Shabab Leader

Women pose with weapons at an Al-Shabaab demonstration against the Somali government in Mogadishu

Police in Uganda have reported arrests in connection with the bombings, which also wounded dozens of people.

Al-Shabaab had said it is waging war “against 6,000 collaborators,” a reference to the African Union peacekeeping force that includes Ugandan troops and warned Ugandans to refrain from involvement in Somalia.

The Islamic militant group has been fighting Somalia’s U.N.-backed transitional government and has previously threatened attacks on Uganda.

It is believed to number up to 7,000 armed men, with a main force of around 3,000 fighters with well-honed guerrilla skills, according to Agence France-Presse.