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By Max Delany and Jason Straziuso, Associated Press Writers


      KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) - 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.

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.

Al-Qaida-linked Somali group claims Uganda blasts

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