Reuters AlertNet Lite - Rebel turned army officer killed in Uganda blast

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Rebel turned army officer killed in Uganda blast

17 Feb 2007 13:21:12 GMT
Source: Reuters

KAMPALA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - An ex-rebel working for Uganda's army anti-terrorism forces was killed along with another person when a grenade blast blew up the car they were travelling in, the army said on Saturday.

Issa Lubega, who was killed late on Friday, had defected to the government from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an insurgent group blamed for a string of deadly bomb attacks in Kampala in the late 1990s before it was defeated.

Military Intelligence Chief Leo Kyanda told reporters early investigations showed the blast was from a grenade.

"Our forensic experts have discovered the pin of the grenade outside the vehicle," he said, although he declined to say whether this was evidence of a deliberate attack.

A brother of the Ugandan army lieutenant also died in the blast. Two relatives sitting in the back of the car survived.

Kyanda said police were investigating the possible motive for such an attack, which happened in the outskirts of Kampala.

"One of the victims was a member of JAT (Joint Anti-Terrorism Taskforce)," he said. "Before that he had been captured in a battle fighting for the ADF."

The ADF, a mixture of Islamist and secular Ugandan rebels, also attacked villages in western Uganda from its bases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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Last updated:Sat Feb 17 13:22:03 2007