'Somali link' as 74 World Cup fans die in Uganda blasts

The death toll from twin blasts that hit the Ugandan capital as football fans gathered to watch the World Cup final has risen to 74, officials say.Another 70 were injured in the explosions at a Kampala rugby club and an Ethiopian restaurant .Police are investigating whether the blasts were suicide bombings, and blamed Somalia's al-Shabab militants.Ugandan peacekeepers operate in Somalia, and al-Shabab has threatened to hit Kampala in the past.About 5,000 African Union troops from Uganda and Burundi are based in Mogadishu to protect the fragile interim government.The African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) force is engaged in frequent firefights with Islamist insurgents which control much of southern and central Somalia.

Al-Shabab welcome attack

Both explosions caused death and injury, although many more people died at the crowded rugby club, where fans were watching the game on a large screen."These bombs were definitely targeting World Cup crowds," Insp Gen Kale Kayihura said, warning people to stay away from large crowds in the coming days.The explosions ripped through the venues with about 10 minutes remaining in Sunday night's match. At both scenes chairs lay overturned, with blood and pieces of flesh on the floor.

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