Suspect who attempted to BOMB Ugandan church during service is detained

The police in Uganda have detained a 28-year-old man as he planned to enter a church in the capital city Kampala with an explosive device to be used in an attack on Sunday.

“We got information that one terrorist had already been sent out to go and carry out a mission, so they (police) followed the terrorist,” Patrick Onyango, a police spokesman, told journalists.

Identified by name as Kintu Ibrahim, the suspect was detained by police as he was about to stop into the Lubaga Miracle Center, a Pentecostal church in the Lubaga suburb of south Kampala.

Police safely detonated the explosive device – they are yet to link a terrorist group to the attempted attack, but the Islamic State (IS)-linked Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) has previously carried out deadly bomb attacks in Uganda.

Mr Onyango said the suspect confessed during interrogation that three other accomplices had been sent out to carry out similar bombing missions. He assured authorities have now launched a manhunt to capture them.

“He’s helping us locate those people,” Mr Onyango said, adding that the suspect was being held on terrorism-related charges.