The army in Uganda has captured a bomb expert for the Islamic allied rebel group, Allied Democratic Forces, ADF. He was apprehended in a forest near the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In a bit to counter jihadist attacks, Uganda’s military has captured a commander of an Islamic State-allied rebel group who is an expert in making improvised explosive devices, or bombs, that the group has used to carry out deadly attacks in the past, according to the army said on Sunday.
As per a statement, released by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces, the insurgent, Anywari Al Iraq, a Ugandan, was captured in the jungles of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo where the rebel group Allied Democratic Forces is based, ADF rebels the military.
During the operation, nine people including children were also rescued from an area in Ituri province in Congo’s east, the military said.
The rebel ADF began as an uprising in Uganda but has been based in Congo since the late 1990s. It pledged allegiance to Islamic State in mid-2019 and is accused of killing hundreds of villagers in frequent raids over recent years.
In one of its most deadly attacks, the group was blamed for a November 2021 triple suicide bombing in the capital Kampala, which killed seven people, including the bombers.
In 2021, the Ugandan army launched a joint operation with the military in Congo’s east to try to defeat the insurgency.
