74 die in two Uganda restaurant bombings

President Obama was “deeply saddened by the loss of life resulting from these deplorable and cowardly attacks,” Mr. Vietor said.

Officials said Sunday’s attacks will not affect the African Union summit 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 Qaeda in 1998, killing 224 people, including 12 Americans. An Israeli airliner and a 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. Jason Straziuso reported from Nairobi, Kenya.

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