Uganda catches bomb expert from rebel group affiliated with the Islamic State

The army of Uganda announced on Sunday that it had apprehended a rebel leader who was affiliated with the Islamic State and was skilled in crafting IEDs, or homemade bombs, which the group has previously used to carry out fatal assaults.

According to a statement from the Uganda People’s Defense Forces, the rebel group Allied Democratic Forces is situated in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo forests, where Ugandan insurgent Anywari Al Iraq was apprehended.

Nine individuals, including children, were also saved during the operation from a region in the eastern Congovian province of Ituri, the military reported.

“An assortment of improvised explosive device (IED) making materials were recovered,” said the statement.

Founded as an insurgency in Uganda, the rebel ADF has been based in the Congo since the late 1990s. It is suspected of have killed hundreds of civilians in frequent attacks over the past few years, having declared allegiance to the Islamic State in mid-2019.

The gang was held accountable for one of its deadliest assaults, a triple suicide bombing in November 2021 that killed seven people in Kampala, the capital, including the bombers.

In an effort to put an end to the insurgency, the Ugandan army and the military in the eastern Congo initiated a coordinated operation in 2021.