DTN News: Shebab Threaten More Attacks After Uganda Bombings

DTN News: Shebab Threaten More Attacks After Uganda Bombings

Source: DTN News / AFP

(NSI News Source Info) KAMPALA, Uganda - July 16, 2010: Somalia's Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab Thursday vowed further attacks after two deadly bombings in Uganda, as Kampala said it would send more troops to boost the African Union force in Mogadishu.

Sunday's bomb attacks on entertainment spots in Kampala where crowds were watching the World Cup final killed at least 73 people and underscored the risk posed by the Somali rebel movement to the entire region. "What happened in Kampala is just the beginning," elusive Shebab leader Mohamed Abdi Godane said in an audio message broadcast on several Mogadishu radio stations. The Shebab -- fighting Somalia's Western-backed transitional government -- said the blasts were in retaliation for the presence of more than 3,000 Ugandan troops in the embattled African Union mission in Somalia (AMISOM). "We are telling all Muslims and particularly the people of Mogadishu that those martyred in AMISOM shelling will be avenged," he added. Godane said the Kampala attacks were carried out by a unit named the Saleh Nabhan Brigade after a Kenyan-born Al-Qaeda operative allegedly behind 2002 anti-Israeli attacks in Mombasa and killed in a suspected US air raid last year. Uganda could provide 2,000 more soldiers for the African Union force, an army spokesman said Thursday, following a decision this month by a regional body to bring AMISOM to its full strength of 8,100. "We are capable of providing the required force if other countries fail to do so," spokesman Felix Kulayigye told AFP. "I should say, however, that I think it is appropriate that other countries contribute." The United States welcomed Uganda's decision and pledged to boost its own aid to the force, the main obstacle preventing the Shebab from seizing full control of Mogadishu. "We have reviewed, since Sunday, the support that we're providing to AMISOM. We are going to beef that up," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said. He also said 63 FBI agents assisting in the probe of Sunday's attacks had arrived in the region. The Kampala attacks, the deadliest in the region since the 1998 bombings against the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, spoiled the continent's World Cup party and drew global condemnation. Analysts said they further raised the Shebab's jihadist profile but their immediate objective was to force a withdrawal of AMISOM, which also has 2,500 troops from Burundi. With fewer than 7,000 troops on the ground, AMISOM has enabled the tenuous survival of Somalia's Western-backed President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed but failed to weaken the insurgents. "We are going to go on the offensive for all those who did this," Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Wednesday of the weekend attacks. "We can join to build up the strength of that force to 20,000 so that working with the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia we can eliminate the terrorists," he said. "We were just in Mogadishu to guard the port, the airport and the State House. Now they have mobilised us to look for them." Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, whose 2006 invasion of Somalia failed to suppress the Shebab before withdrawing early last year, has said he would not send troops back in but nevertheless advocated a tough approach. "There is absolutely no hope of engaging in negotiations with this group. There is no option but to work for their total annihilation," Meles told state television Thursday. Ugandan investigators were meanwhile still trying to determine the exact circumstances of Sunday's attacks in Kampala and identities of all the victims. A senior official has said that at least one of the blasts was a suicide attack while police said they had already arrested six suspects.

Related content *Yemen Qaeda chief rallies Muslims in West: magazine *Three policemen killed in 'Qaeda' attacks in south Yemen *Failed Times Square bomber made suicide video *Related Hot Topic: Al Qaeda

DTN News: Twin Bomb Blasts In Uganda Kill 64

DTN News: Twin Bomb Blasts In Uganda Kill 64

Source: DTN News / AFP - Ben Simon

(NSI News Source Info) KAMPALA, Uganda - July 12, 2010: Twin bombs tore into crowds watching the World Cup final in the Uganda capital, killing 64 including an American and wounding scores in one of the deadliest attacks to hit the city, officials said Monday.

The country's police chief said the blasts at an Ethiopian-owned restaurant and a rugby club in Kampala late Sunday were a terrorist attack that may be linked to threats from Al Qaeda-inspired Islamist Shebab rebels in Somalia. Security officers deployed to the scene blocked roads and cordoned off the damaged buildings, keeping journalists out as the injured were ferried to hospitals. "We have 64 dead and 65 injured. The nationalities of all the fatalities will be released later," national police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba said. Earlier police said at least 23 people had been killed. An American citizen was among the dead, a US embassy spokeswoman in Kampala said. An AFP correspondent saw three wounded US citizens at the city's main Mulago hospital where dozens other injured people had been taken for treatment. "We just wanted to watch the World Cup. Unfortunately we went to the Ethiopian village," said US national 18-year-old Chris Sledge who suffered serious injuries to his legs and a bruised eye. "I feel OK. Am gonna need surgery," he said. US President Barack Obama called the explosions "deplorable and cowardly", National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said in a statement. "The United States is ready to provide any assistance requested by the Ugandan government," he said. A senior administration official said the United States was in contact with its embassy in Kampala and the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding the Uganda's government requests for assistance. It was not immediately clear who was behind the explosions or the motive but national police chief Kale Kayihura told reporters the attack may be linked to the Shebab militants in nearby Somalia. "Obviously this is terrorism. That one is clear," he said. "You know there have been declarations from Shebab and Al-Qaeda. Terrorism is a modern-day threat. You know the region we are in and our commitment in Somalia," Kayihura said. The Shebab last week urged Somalis to join the war against the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Somalia which includes Ugandan and Burundian forces, blaming them for civilians death in Mogadishu. The police chief added, however: "At this stage we can't rule out anything." Uganda became the first country to send troops to Somalia in early 2007 to prop up the war-torn country's transitional government. They were later joined by Burundian forces. The hardline Shebab militia has repeatedly attacked the AU peacekeepers, killing scores and shrivelling the fragile government's control of Mogadishu to just a few blocks. Last week a regional bloc pledged to send additional 2,000 soldiers to Somalia to boost the peacekeepers' strength to the required 8,100 troops, sparking belligerent reaction from the radical Islamist groups. On Saturday the leaders of Somalia's two Islamist movements met for talks aimed at joining forces against the Western-backed government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed which they are fighting to overthrow. The police chief urged residents to avoid huge gatherings until it was clear who was responsible for the rare bomb attacks in the east African country. "As we grapple to find out what could have caused this, I would appeal to members of the public to avoid big gatherings," Kayihura said.

DTN News: Netherlands Into World Cup Final, 3-2 Over Uruguay

DTN News: Netherlands Into World Cup Final, 3-2 Over Uruguay

* A Dutch treat: The Netherlands is in the World Cup final

Source: DTN News - compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources including AP

(NSI News Source Info) CAPE TOWN, South Africa - July 6, 2010: Long wasteful with its soccer talent, the Netherlands sure has found the right touch in this tournament. Dutch stars Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben scored three minutes apart in the second half as the Netherlands beat Uruguay 3-2 Tuesday night to advance to its first championship match since losing in 1978 to Argentina. “We are so close,” Sneijder said. “There is nothing bigger than the World Cup.” Winners of all six games in South Africa, the Oranje will face either Germany or Spain in Sunday’s title game at Soccer City in Johannesburg. The Netherlands lost its other appearance in the final, to West Germany in 1974. Both of those title-game defeats came during the golden period of Dutch soccer, and in the opposition’s homeland. No such worries this time, and no country outside of Africa has had as much fan support as the Netherlands. Inside Green Point Stadium it looked like a Florida orange grove. Outside, a Netherlands fan in a blue and white bodysuit stood on stilts and played a vuvuzela—badly. It was about the only thing that didn’t measure up for the Dutch. And a tournament that looked like a South American fiesta early on will end in a European showdown for the second straight World Cup. Sneijder and Robben made sure of that. “This is unforgettable,” said Sneijder, now tied with Spain’s David Villa for top scorer at the tournament (five goals). “It was a tough fight and toward the end we complicated matters. “Sunday we play in the World Cup final. I have to get used to that.” Sneijder’s goal came somewhat unexpectedly because Uruguay had shut down the Dutch offense for much of the second half. His left-footed shot from just inside the penalty area barely ticked the leg of defender Maximiliano Pereira and, with Robin van Persie almost deflecting it again, it skidded past goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. Then Robben sent a cross from Dirk Kuyt past a flat-footed Muslera with a brilliant header as Robben was leaping away from the net. His teammates piled on in an Oranje Crush celebration, and Robben came up from it with mud on his forehead, a smile on his face—and the knowledge that Netherlands was ahead 3-1 and likely headed to the championship match. For good measure, Robben blew kisses to the fans. Uruguay was without dangerous striker Luis Suarez, whose handball on the goal line in the final seconds of extra time against Ghana saved his team in the quarterfinals. He drew a red card for that, and spent his suspension on the bench watching his undermanned teammates come up just short. Pereira made the Netherlands sweat with a goal in injury time, and Stekelenburg’s late save preserved the biggest Dutch win in decades. The Dutch have now won 10 straight and are unbeaten in their last 25 games. Robben was replaced late in the match, and at the final whistle he fell flat to the turf as he ran back onto the pitch. Mark van Bommel hustled over to where the ball came to rest, picked it up and hugged it. His teammates then began a joyous stroll around the field, some of them barechested, as the vuvuzelas blared and Dutch flags waved in the stands. About a half hour after the game ended, 1,000 fans were still there— singing Dutch songs, waving flags, and bowing in unison—and the team came back in their orange shorts to join the party, even lead the cheers. “This is very special,” Van Marwijk said. “After 32 years we play the final again. Such a small country! We can be very proud of this.” The Jabulani ball Van Bommel grabbed has been a source of criticism for its unpredictability, particularly the way it can soar. When Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, a true defensive halfback, puts one in from 30 yards off the far goalpost, well, let the debate begin again. The Dutch captain gave his team the lead in the 18th minute, and the Oranje pressed for more, but when they let up slightly on defense, the superb Diego Forlan pounced. He was given far too much open space in the middle of the field and, from just under 30 yards, his left-footed drive went off goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg’s hand and into the net. Stekelenburg was screened just enough by defender John Heitinga and didn’t get a good view of the ball until it was too late. While several Dutch players threw up their hands in frustration, Forlan celebrated his fourth goal of the tournament with a suave wave of his arm. Suarez leaped off the bench in jubilation. Forlan left in the 85th minute and coach Oscar Tabarez revealed after the match that his star played hurt. “From minute one he had a problem,” Tabarez said. “I’m not dumb enough to take him out at 3-1 when the match wasn’t lost. He was injured and could not continue.” Van Bronckhorst was in his accustomed role early in the second half when he headed a long shot by Alvaro Pereira away from the net after Stekelenburg was caught out chasing a stray back pass. And the Dutch defense was under siege in the final minutes as Uruguay sought to tie it. The Celeste will head to Saturday’s third-place game, not bad for the last team to qualify. But not nearly what they wanted. The Dutch have that.