Uganda’s president says airstrikes killed ‘a lot’ of rebels with ties to Islamic State in Congo

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA
Associated Press

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni says recent airstrikes against rebels with ties to the Islamic State group in eastern Congo have killed “a lot” of the militants, possibly including a notorious bomb maker. The statement by the president’s office didn’t provide details on the Sept. 16 airstrikes targeting the Allied Democratic Forces. The shadowy extremist organization is suspected in the June massacre of at least 41 people, most of them students, and other violence against civilians from bases in Congo’s volatile east. Uganda and Congo launched joint military operations against the rebels in 2021. The rebels have long opposed the rule of Museveni, a U.S. security ally who has held power in the East African country for decades.