Bomb blasts in Uganda kill World Cup fans...mkono wa Al-Shabaab?

[Manda]

Very sad indeed!, i used to be in that Restaurant during my days in Kampala. Hope that will be the waking up call for our security institutions in Tz!

 

[Bourgeoisie]

Jamani hayo ndio "matunda" ya Islamic Sharia ambayo Al Shabaab wanataka kuieneza kule Somalia! Ni damu damu damu mtindo mmoja! Washabiki wa Mahakama za Kadhi kwa Tanzania kuweni makini sana na mnachokishabikia! Hao watu wamevaa ngozi za kondoo kwa nje, lakini ndani ni mbwamwitu wakali sana, wanatisha kupita maelezo!

Am saying this because of my pin-hole sight!

 

[Drifter]

Mkuu usilojua ni usiku wa kiza. Hao al Shabab umeshajiuliza wanapata wapi silaha na support??

Ningeshauri Tz isijiingize kwene matatizo ya watu wengine maana twajua gharama italipwa na wavuja jasho akina siye tuso na mbele wala nyuma.

Tulijiingiza kwene vita ya ukombozi kusini mwa Africa..WHO REMEMBERS US TODAY??

Hapa ndipo wale wataalamu wetu wa UwT wanatakiwa kuonyesha ujuzi wao hasa katika masuala ya external intelligence ili tusibaki gizani na hatari za kimataifa zinazotuzunguka. Sijui kama kazi hiyo wanaifanya kweli na inatengewa bajeti ya uhakika?

Kuhusu ukombozi kusini, it was a honourable deed indeed na tungeweza kuutumia kama karata kuu (major strategy) ya kuimarisha nafasi yetu katika jumuia ya wa-Afrika na kimataifa. Tatizo letu ni kutokuwa na mkakati makini wa maslahi yetu kimataifa zaidi ya janja ya kujiibia wenyewe humu ndani. Hebu tafakari jinsi jirani zetu Kenya waliokuwa karibu zaidi na makaburu jinsi, mara baada ya apartheid kuanguka tu, walivyotinga sauzi kujiweka sawa na serikali ya ANC katika mustakabali mzima wa kujitengenezea mazingira safi ya uhusiano wa kibiashara; nasikia hata viza kwenda huko hawahitaji. Aidha, wameshapita kote tulikotolea damu kuona maslahi yapi wanawezachuma kama taifa. Sisi tulichofanya ni kuwatafuta makaburu (walewale tuliokuwa tukipigana nao) waje kutusaidia kujiibia.

Heshima yetu iliondoka na Mwalimu na kumbukumbu imebakia kwake nayo huenda ikatoweka kwa kadiri generation za waliokuwepo wakati huo zikitoweka.

 

[Bantugbro]

Am saying this because of my pin-hole sight!

Kwanini tunasahau kwamba maadui wa Uganda sio Al Shabab pekee?, Mbona zile blasts za kwenye mkutano wa Nairobi hatusema ni Al Shabab au kwa sababu watu wengi hawakupoteza maisha?. Mbona blast za kule Kigali na Bujumbura hivi karibuni hatukusema ni Al Shabab?.

Nchi nyingi za EAC bado zina matatizo makubwa sana ya kiusalama na matatizo hayo yanatokana na siasa mbovu za ndani.

Hebu angalia link hapa chini, jamaa kauwawa juzi juzi kule Nairobi alikutwa na Bomb detonators kwani huyu jamaa ni Msomali/Al Shabab?

A police officer displays some of the detonators recovered from a butcher shot dead by police in Ongata Rongai on Saturday.

By DOMINIC WABALA
Posted Saturday, July 10 2010 at 21:00

A butcher was on Saturday shot dead by police whom they suspected of arms smuggling. They recovered 300 explosive detonators near a church compound in Ongata Rongai.

The man was suspected to have been on a mission to hand over a basketful of the India-made aluminium, instantaneous electric detonators to another suspect when detectives from the Special Crime Prevention Unit, acting on a tip-off, intercepted him.

The detonators were packed in 12 bundles, each containing 25 pieces held together by a rubber band.

Accosted suspect

Ongata Rongai police boss Simon Kiragu said the detectives accosted the suspect, who reportedly runs a butchery in the township, behind a supermarket a few minutes after 11 a.m.

He attempted to run away when approached by the officers and they shot him dead after he defied their orders.

A female suspect, who is believed to be the would-be recipient, reportedly escaped as a crowd gathered near the scene.

“We are looking for her because she is known,” the OCPD said.

An eyewitnesses told the Sunday Nation the slain suspect was wearing gumboots and carrying a basket and could not run fast. He said the butcher had walked to an open field near Mt Zion church and, realising that he could not escape without being shot by the officers following him, lay down in the field.

He was then shot several times while lying down and witnesses said he may have died on the spot.

Another man was also shot in the ensuing chaos.

His fate was yet to be known by the time of going to press but eyewitnesses said he was hurriedly bundled into a waiting blue vehicle by the police who proceeded to cover both the front and rear number plates of the car with newspapers.

Excavate rocks

The recovered detonators, which are also used to excavate rocks in quarries, can be used to make bombs or improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

But their procurement, use and storage is strictly controlled by the government and dealers require a licence.

Police found documents and contact addresses of Bambi Transporters, a company based in Wajir.

But when the Sunday Nation called the operations manager he said he lost the documents while on a business trip in Nairobi.

The slain man was a well known butchery operator, who also supplied meat to other butchers in the township.

A relative of his is allegedly in prison for possessing explosives.


Daily Nation:*- News*|Man with detonators shot dead

Source Daily Nation

 

[mmakonde]

Nasiliza Radio wanasema 64 ni dead!
Hawa Islamists ni hatari sana,nafikiri target yao ilikuwa South Africa,lakini upumbavu wao wanatarget watu wa kawaida Kampala,wanaenjoy kinywaji ,hawa washenzi wanaenjoy kuchinja!

 

[Aza]

if our security systems are not watchful...especially east afrika
we are going to be invaded by these extremists from the horn of afrika
(its turning to be al-quida camp over there)!!!
Tanzania watch out n the rest of east afrikan states
lets God prevails seriously n take masures!!

 

[Shapu]

That was so sad...poleni sana ndugu.

 

[Njalamatata]

I am sure Al Shabab ni wasomali kwa sura na matendo,but not financial! and hapa kwetu tuna wasomali kibao wanaotafuna kiswahili mbofu,hivi hawa intelijensia wetu wanajua hili? au bado wanawachukulia kuwa ni wakimbizi,ndo washaanza mipango yao tayari na Uganda washalia inkuja kwetu.Chetu wasomali wasio raia na wasio hata na passport walivojaa Arusha,Laela kule Sumbawanga,Tunduma Mbeya,Dar n.k,hivi serikali inadhani hao mwisho wake ni nini? bado wanw ndugu zao huko na wanatumiwa hata kusafirisha bidhaa zao.Searikali kuwni makini!

 

[Buchanan]

Am saying this because of my pin-hole sight!

Hawa Al Shabaab walianza kukemewa siku nyingi na M7 ndugu yangu. Hayo mambo ya pin-hole sight ni ya kwako! Soma hapa. Kama nilivyosema, ni matunda ya Islamic Sharia, nothing more nothing less!

 

[M-Joka]

Jamani hayo ndio "matunda" ya Islamic Sharia ambayo Al Shabaab wanataka kuieneza kule Somalia! Ni damu damu damu mtindo mmoja! Washabiki wa Mahakama za Kadhi kwa Tanzania kuweni makini sana na mnachokishabikia! Hao watu wamevaa ngozi za kondoo kwa nje, lakini ndani ni mbwamwitu wakali sana, wanatisha kupita maelezo!

Kwani wanaodai mahakama ya kadhi Tanzania ni nani kwa mtazamo wako?
i. Al-shabab
ii. Wasomali,
iii. Terrorists
iv. Waislamu waTanzania ambao na kwa maantiki ya maandiko yako hapa unajaribu kuwakebehi kama waigaji tu sio waislamu,
v. Ni nani hasa? Watanzania au sio watanzania?

Huoni kuwa huu ufinyu wa fikra na matusi ya dharau juu ya waislamu ndio yanayopelekea mitafaruku isio na maana?. Au ndio unatekeleza mikakati uliyotumwa ya kuendeleza provocations dhidi ya waislamu ili wa-loose temper?

Tanzania hatuyataki haya??? Nchi yetu ina asilimia kubwa ya waumini wailsmau na wakristo wanaotambuana na kusikilizana. Ni wewe na hao ndio mnaohitaji kujifunza: Hebu lete majibu ya maswali haya ili watu wakutambue humu jamvini.

i. Ni nini maana ya Mahakama ya kadhi?
i. Sababu gani zinazowapelekea waislamu waTZ kuona mahitaji ya Mahakama ya Kadhi hivi sasa?
ii. Nini mapendekezo ya waislamu kuhusu muundo wa mahakama ya kadhi na kazi zake?
iii. Ni nini mahusiano yatakayokuwepo na mahakama zengine za nchi? nk, nk

Kama nia yako ni chuki, matusi na dharau tu dhidi ya waislamu basi ujijue kwamba ni wewe uliye:

i. Fitina: Muongo an mueneza chuki na hasama baina ya watu
ii. Gaidi: Unayefurahia umwagaji damu as long as kama japo kabla au pasipo na ushahidi, ugaidi huo utasingiziwa waislamu, wewe inakufurahisha sanaaaaa, zikiwemo hizi roho zilizopotea Uganda.
iii. Mnafiki: Kujidai kupendekeza suluhisho kumbe vile unachochea ugomvi kwa kauli zako kama hapa unapojaribu kuhusisha yaliyotokea Uganda na mapendekezo ya waislamu wa TZ kutaka Mahakama ya Kadhi, wapi na wapi !!! yote hii janja ya kukasirisha waislamu waTZ au siyo??? Hopefully moderators na wanachama jamvini watakufahamu vizuri.

Mwenyezi Mungu akuongoze

 

[Mtazamaji]

Mkuu usilojua ni usiku wa kiza. Hao al Shabab umeshajiuliza wanapata wapi silaha na support??

Ningeshauri Tz isijiingize kwene matatizo ya watu wengine maana twajua gharama italipwa na wavuja jasho akina siye tuso na mbele wala nyuma.

Tulijiingiza kwene vita ya ukombozi kusini mwa Africa..WHO REMEMBERS US TODAY??

Nakubaliana na wewe

Lakini vile vile tukumbuke kuwa nchi zetu za AU hawawezi kufanya maamuzi magumu ambayo ni sahihi. Na sidhani kama kuna viongozi wengi wengi wa afrika amabo wako tayari kutoa majeshi yao wazi wazi kwenda kussport serikali ya Somalia. Viongozi wengi wanafanya political calculated decision.

Wakati wa vita ya DRC miaka ya nyuma ANGOLA, Zimbabwe, zimbabwe na nchi nyingine zilisupport wazi serikali ya DRC . wakti Rwanda na uganda walisupprt waaasi. Tanzania hatukusema wazi tulikuwa upande gani japo kuna askari wa kibongo walikuwa kule. Kule comoro tusijidanganye kuwa eti JWTZ ilienda kupigana. JWTZ walienda kufukuza wahuni wachache. Haikuwa VIta.
Kule Darfur JWTZ wapo kama walinzi wa amani. na Posho kiasi ya kuwa huko inafadhiliwa na UN.

Kwa analysis ndogo sidhani kama Tanzania tuna capacity finacially ya kupigana na alshabab unless waje wachina , wamerakani, European Union wasema watatufinance ndo utasikia wanasiasa wanatoka kifua mbele kutangaza.

Mkumbuke mpaka leo tunalia Vita Ya mwak 1978

 

[Buchanan]

Kwani wanaodai mahakama ya kadhi Tanzania ni nani kwa mtazamo wako?
i. Al-shabab
ii. Wasomali,
iii. Terrorists
iv. Waislamu waTanzania ambao na kwa maantiki ya maandiko yako hapa unajaribu kuwakebehi kama waigaji tu sio waislamu,
v. Ni nani hasa? Watanzania au sio watanzania?

Huoni kuwa huu ufinyu wa fikra na matusi ya dharau juu ya waislamu ndio yanayopelekea mitafaruku isio na maana?. Au ndio unatekeleza mikakati uliyotumwa ya kuendeleza provocations dhidi ya waislamu ili wa-loose temper?

Tanzania hatuyataki haya??? Nchi yetu ina asilimia kubwa ya waumini wailsmau na wakristo wanaotambuana na kusikilizana. Ni wewe na hao ndio mnaohitaji kujifunza: Hebu lete majibu ya maswali haya ili watu wakutambue humu jamvini.

i. Ni nini maana ya Mahakama ya kadhi?
i. Sababu gani zinazowapelekea waislamu waTZ kuona mahitaji ya Mahakama ya Kadhi hivi sasa?
ii. Nini mapendekezo ya waislamu kuhusu muundo wa mahakama ya kadhi na kazi zake?
iii. Ni nini mahusiano yatakayokuwepo na mahakama zengine za nchi? nk, nk

Kama nia yako ni chuki, matusi na dharau tu dhidi ya waislamu basi ujijue kwamba ni wewe uliye:

i. Fitina: Muongo an mueneza chuki na hasama baina ya watu
ii. Gaidi: Unayefurahia umwagaji damu as long as kama japo kabla au pasipo na ushahidi, ugaidi huo utasingiziwa waislamu, wewe inakufurahisha sanaaaaa, zikiwemo hizi roho zilizopotea Uganda.
iii. Mnafiki: Kujidai kupendekeza suluhisho kumbe vile unachochea ugomvi kwa kauli zako kama hapa unapojaribu kuhusisha yaliyotokea Uganda na mapendekezo ya waislamu wa TZ kutaka Mahakama ya Kadhi, wapi na wapi !!! yote hii janja ya kukasirisha waislamu waTZ au siyo??? Hopefully moderators na wanachama jamvini watakufahamu vizuri.
Mwenyezi Mungu akuongoze

Mahakama za Kadhi ni mlango tu wa kuleta kitu kinachoitwa Islamic Sharia (which is nothing but terrorism-Quran 8:12: Mola wako Mlezi alipo wafunulia Malaika: Hakika Mimi ni pamoja nanyi, basi watieni nguvu walio amini. Nitatia woga katika nyoyo za walio kufuru. Basi wapigeni juu ya shingo na wapigeni kwenye kila ncha za vidole.)! Remember, Islamization is the process, it starts from moderate Islam (where Muslims are the minority) to Extremism (where Muslims are the majority-this is the real Islam = terrorism)!

 

[X-PASTER]

Mahakama za Kadhi ni mlango tu wa kuleta kitu kinachoitwa Islamic Sharia (which is nothing but terrorism-Quran 8:12: Mola wako Mlezi alipo wafunulia Malaika: Hakika Mimi ni pamoja nanyi, basi watieni nguvu walio amini. Nitatia woga katika nyoyo za walio kufuru. Basi wapigeni juu ya shingo na wapigeni kwenye kila ncha za vidole.)! Remember, Islamization is the process, it starts from moderate Islam (where Muslims are the minority) to Extremism (where Muslims are the majority-this is the real Islam = terrorism)!

Naona umekurupuka tu ku-quote aya ambayo wala hujui mnasaba wake... pole sana.

 

[Buchanan]

Naona umekurupuka tu ku-quote aya ambayo wala hujui mnasaba wake... pole sana.

Al-Qaida-linked Somali group claims Uganda blasts

KAMPALA, Uganda – An al-Qaida-linked Somali militant group claimed responsibility Monday for twin bombings in Uganda that killed 74 people watching the World Cup final on TV, saying the militants would carry out attacks "against our enemy" wherever they are.
The blasts came two days after a commander with the Somali group, al-Shabab, called for militants to attack sites in Uganda and Burundi, two nations that contribute troops to the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia.
Al-Shabab, whose ranks are swelled by militant veterans of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, has long threatened to attack outside of Somalia's borders, but the bombings late Sunday are the first time the group has done so.
"We will carry out attacks against our enemy wherever they are," said Sheik Ali Mohamud Rage, a militant spokesman in Mogadishu. "No one will deter us from performing our Islamic duty."
Ugandan officials had said earlier that they suspected the Somali group was involved. One of the targets was an Ethiopian restaurant - a nation despised by the al-Shabab militants.
The attacks on two soft targets filled with civilians raised concerns about the capabilities and motives of al-Shabab, which the U.S. State Department has declared a terrorist organization.
A California-based aid group, meanwhile, said one of its American workers was among the dead. Police said Ethiopian, Indian and Congolese nationals were also among those killed and wounded, police said.
At least three of the wounded were in a church group from Pennsylvania who went to an Ethiopian restaurant in Kampala early to get good seats for the game, said Lori Ssebulime, an American who married a Ugandan. Three Ugandans in the group were killed when a blast erupted. One of the wounded was 16-year-old American Emily Kerstetter.
"Emily was rolling around in a pool of blood screaming," said Ssebulime, who has helped bring in U.S. church groups since 2004. "Five minutes before it went off, Emily said she was going to cry so hard because she didn't want to leave. She wanted to stay the rest of the summer here."
Ugandan government spokesman Fred Opolot said Monday there were indications that two suicide bombers took part in the late Sunday attacks, which left dozens wounded. Opolot said the death toll also had risen to 74.
Blood and pieces of flesh littered the floor among overturned chairs at the scenes of the blasts, which went off as people watched the game between Spain and the Netherlands.
"We were enjoying ourselves when a very noisy blast took place," said Andrew Oketa, one of the hospitalized survivors. "I fell down and became unconscious. When I regained, I realized that I was in a hospital bed with a deep wound on my head."
The attacks appeared to represent a dangerous step forward by al-Shabab, analysts said, and could mean that other East African countries working to support the Somali government will face attacks.
"Al-Shabab has used suicide bombers in the past and shown no concern about civilian casualties in its attacks," said David Shinn, a former U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia and a professor at George Washington University. "Some elements of al-Shabab have also prohibited the showing of television, including the World Cup, in Somalia."
At a wrap-up news briefing Monday in South Africa, FIFA President Sepp Blatter denounced the violence against fans watching the game.
"Can you link it to the World Cup? I don't know... Whatever happened, linked or not linked, it is something that we all should condemn," he said.
Florence Naiga, 32, a mother of three children, said her husband had gone to watch the final at the rugby club.
"He did not come back. I learnt about the bomb blasts in the morning. When I went to police they told me he was among the dead," she said.
Invisible Children, a San Diego, California-based aid group that helps child soldiers, identified the dead American as one of its workers, Nate Henn, who was killed on the rugby field. Henn, 25, was a native of Wilmington, Delaware.
"He sacrificed his comfort to live in the humble service of God and of a better world," the group said in a statement on its website.
The FBI has sent agents based at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya to assist in the investigation and look into the circumstances of the death of the American citizen, a State Department official in Washington said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the probe.
International police agency Interpol said in a statement Monday that it is also dispatching a team to Uganda.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni toured the blast sites Monday and said that the terrorists behind the bombings should fight soldiers, not "people who are just enjoying themselves."
"We shall go for them wherever they are coming from," Museveni said. "We will look for them and get them as we always do."
Ugandan army spokesman Felix Kulayigye said it was too early to speculate about any military response to the attacks.
Somalia's president also condemned the blasts and described the attack as "barbaric."
Al-Shabab, which wants to overthrow Somalia's weak, U.N.-backed government, is known to have links with al-Qaida. Al-Shabab also counts militant veterans from the Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan conflicts among its ranks. Their fighters also include young men recruited from the Somali communities in the United States.
Ethiopia, which fought two wars with Somalia, is a longtime enemy of al-Shabab and other Somali militants who accuse their neighbor of meddling in Somali affairs. Ethiopia had troops in Somalia between December 2006 and January 2009 to back Somalia's fragile government against the Islamic insurgency.
In addition to Uganda's troops in Mogadishu, Uganda also hosts Somali soldiers trained in U.S. and European-backed programs.
White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said the U.S. was prepared to provide any necessary assistance to the Ugandan government.
President Barack Obama was "deeply saddened by the loss of life resulting from these deplorable and cowardly attacks," Vietor said.
Officials said the Sunday attacks will not affect the African Union summit being held in Uganda from July 19-27. Many African leaders are expected to attend.
Sunday's terror attacks are not the first to hit East Africa. U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, were the targets of deadly twin bombings by al-Qaida in 1998, killing 224 people including 12 Americans. An Israeli airliner and hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, were targeted by terrorists in 2002.
The United States worries that Somalia could be a terrorist breeding ground, particularly since Osama bin Laden has declared his support for Islamic radicals there.
___
Associated Press writers Malkhadir M. Muhumed in Nairobi, Kenya; Mohamed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu, Somalia, Godfrey Olukya in Kampala, Michelle Faul in Johannesburg, and Matthew Lee and Kimberly Dozier in Washington contributed to this report. Straziuso reported from Nairobi, Kenya.

Source, click here.

 

[minda]

nasiliza radio wanasema 64 ni dead!
Hawa islamists ni hatari sana,nafikiri target yao ilikuwa south africa,lakini upumbavu wao wanatarget watu wa kawaida kampala,wanaenjoy kinywaji ,hawa washenzi wanaenjoy kuchinja!

mpaka saa 10 leo jioni, death toll imeongezeka hadi 74! Mungu atuepushe na maafa zaidi, vita na ukimwi vinatutosha jamani.

 

[Kanyafu Nkanwa]

Very sad indeed!, i used to be in that Restaurant during my days in Kampala. Hope that will be the waking up call for our security institutions in Tz!

Bongo hamna shida na wala haiwezi kamwe tokea rabsha ya namna hiyo. Tuko kama tulivyo na tutaendelea hivi hivi daima. Take my words.
Uganda usikute ni wapinzaji wa Museveni. He has already overstayed. I don't believe there is no another Ugandan who has better thinking than him. It is time for him to go. So is Kagame.

Meanwhile, for this attack, let us believe it is Al shababs' attack have nothing to do with local politics

 

[m_kishuri]

Jamani hayo ndio "matunda" ya Islamic Sharia ambayo Al Shabaab wanataka kuieneza kule Somalia! Ni damu damu damu mtindo mmoja! Washabiki wa Mahakama za Kadhi kwa Tanzania kuweni makini sana na mnachokishabikia! Hao watu wamevaa ngozi za kondoo kwa nje, lakini ndani ni mbwamwitu wakali sana, wanatisha kupita maelezo!

Easy mkuu!!! Sidhani kama ni hekima kufananisha a failed state (Somalia) na nchi yetu, ambayo ina kila haki ya kujivunia kutokana na misingi yake mizuri ya kidemokrasia. Somalia wapo kwenye vurugu za wao kwa wao tangu 1991, na hawana Central Government wala institution yoyote, sasa vipi utaifananisha na Tanzania jamani? Endapo Watanzania watakubali hili suala la Kadhi Courts au la, sioni jinsi gani nchi yetu itafikia Somali ilipo. Tafadhalini jamani, tuangalie the fabric of our society kabla ya kugeneralize mambo.
Ingawa ni kweli kwamba kuna baadhi ya watu wachache ambao wanaweza kutumia mjadala wa KADHI COURTS ili kuleta vurugu, lakini tukumbuke kwamba Tanzania ina STRONG EXECUTIVE, JUDICIARY AND LEGISLATIVE BRANCHES OF GOVT, ambazo japo zina mushkeli, lakini inapobidi kufanya kazi kwa maslahi ya nchi yetu, nipo 100% sure kwamba watafanya hivyo.

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

 

[Ab-Titchaz]

Somali militants claim Kampala World Cup blasts​

​

The Somali Islamist group al-Shabab has said it was behind twin blasts which hit the Ugandan capital Kampala on Sunday, killing 74 people.

A spokesman for the group, Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, threatened more attacks in a statement in Mogadishu.Police said the bombings targeted football fans watching the World Cup final.

A Ugandan official said a Somali's head was found at the scene of one blast, and he may have been a suicide bomber.

Ugandan peacekeepers are in Somalia, and al-Shabab has previously threatened Kampala.

"Al-Shabab was behind the two bomb blasts in Uganda," Ali Mohamud Rage said.

"We thank the mujahideens that carried out the attack. We are sending a message to Uganda and Burundi, if they do not take out their Amisom [African Union Mission in Somalia] troops from Somalia, blasts will continue and it will happen in Bujumbura [the Burundi capital] too."

The explosions, which also injured about 70 people, ripped through a rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant as football fans watched the last few minutes of the World Cup final.

'Best news ever' ​

The deadliest of the blasts was at the crowded rugby club. At both scenes chairs lay overturned, with blood and pieces of flesh on the floor.

Earlier in Mogadishu, an al-Shabab commander said he was pleased with the blasts in Uganda, but did not admit it was the militant group's work.

Sheik Yusuf Sheik Issa told the news agency Reuters: "Uganda is a major infidel country supporting the so-called government of Somalia.

"We know Uganda is against Islam and so we are very happy at what has happened in Kampala. That is the best news we ever heard."

Aware of threat

Ugandan Internal Affairs Minister Matia Kasaija told the BBC that the severed head of a person from Somalia had been identified at the scene of one blast.

He told the World Today programme Uganda had been aware of the threat, but had been caught off-guard.About 5,000 African Union troops from Uganda and Burundi are based in Mogadishu propping up the fragile interim government.The Amisom force is engaged in frequent firefights with the Islamist insurgents that control much of southern and central Somalia.

American dead

The attack on the Ethiopian restaurant also fits in with al-Shabab's regional policy.

Addis Ababa backs Somalia's government against the rebels. And Ethiopian troops invaded Somalia in 2006 to oust an Islamist movement, stoking an insurgency that still rages.

BBC East Africa correspondent Peter Greste says security services across the region will now be reassessing how they can protect themselves from a force that has proven itself willing and capable of striking outside Somalia's borders.

Many - if not most - of those killed and injured in the Kampala blasts were foreign nationals, with both venues popular destinations for expatriates living in the capital.

One unnamed witness told the BBC how he was caught in the rugby club blast.

"I just heard the bomb. In fact, I blacked out... when I gained consciousness, then I started now, crawling, coming out," he said.

California-based aid group Invisible Children, which helps child soldiers, said one of its workers, Nate Henn, 25, was among those killed at the rugby club.

Police said Ethiopian, Indian and Congolese nationals were also among those killed and wounded.

At least three Americans, members of a Church group from Pennsylvania, were wounded at the Ethiopian restaurant.

One, Kris Sledge, 18, of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, said from his hospital bed: "I remember blacking out, hearing people screaming and running."

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni criticised the attackers and said his country would not "run away" from its commitments in Mogadishu.

"People who are watching football are not people who should be targeted. If they [attackers] want a fight, they should go and look for soldiers."

US President Barack Obama said the explosions were "deplorable and cowardly".

The African Union has said the attacks will not affect its summit, which is due to be held in Kampala later this month.

BBC News - Somali militants claim Kampala World Cup blasts