26 students killed, eight others kidnapped in attack on school in Uganda

(CNN) — At least 26 students have been killed and six abducted after an attack on a western Uganda school by armed Allied Democratic Forces rebels, a Ugandan commander told CNN on Saturday.

Major Bilal Katamba, spokesman for Uganda’s military operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), said that between 20 and 25 rebels attacked Lhubirira Secondary School in Mpondwe between 11:00 pm and midnight on Friday. they killed 26 students and wounded eight before setting the school on fire.

The school is located on the border of Uganda with the Congo.

Authorities were still trying to extinguish the fire on Saturday morning. The military suspects more bodies may be found, but said no one alive was trapped in the school.

The military is pursuing the suspects in the DRC and believes they are heading towards the Virunga National Park, the major said.

Armed rebels from the ISIS-linked ADF attacked the Mpondwe school on Friday night, according to police.

“A dormitory was burned and a food warehouse looted,” Uganda Police spokesman Fred Enanga said on Twitter, adding that the bodies had been taken to Bwera hospital.

The eight injured are in critical condition at Bwera hospital, it added.