Police spokesman Fred Enanga told reporters at a news conference in the city that two civilians and a police officer were killed in the explosions.
The ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency reported the incident on its Telegram channel on Tuesday, saying the three fighters had set off with bags filled with explosives. Two headed towards the Kampala Central Police Department, and the third to the parliament building, where they exploded, it reported.
In a statement on Tuesday, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni raised the number of injured from 33 to 36. A total of 81 suspects have been arrested, Museveni said.
“In addition to hunting down terrorists, the country’s (sober) vigilance strategy is helping to minimize the damage,” Museveni said.
“Therefore, the public should remain vigilant and check people at bus stops, hotels, churches, mosques, markets,” he added.
Two explosions rocked the city center within five minutes of each other. Police said surveillance footage showed an adult male carrying a backpack that exploded at 10:03 a.m. local time near the Central Police Department. Enanga said the attacker died instantly.
Two people were confirmed dead at the scene of the first explosion, while 17 others were seriously injured, Enanga said in a statement.
Three minutes after the first explosion, two suicide bombers on motorbikes detonated themselves near Raja Chambers and the Jubilee Insurance Building along Kampala Central Parliament Avenue, Enanga said. Two bombers died and the body of a civilian was also found at the site, he added.
Enanga said 33 people were injured in the two explosions; Five of them are in critical condition. The injured are being treated at Mulago National Referral Hospital.
Police were pursuing a fourth bomber, Enanga said, adding that two more bombs had been recovered from his home and would be detonated safely.
Following the bombings, the police and army sealed off the streets around the blast site and restricted traffic in the city.
