At least 41 killed in rebel attack in Ugandan school near Congo border

Ugandan police say at least 41 people have been killed in a suspected rebel attack on a school near the Congo border. Police said in a statement Saturday that the Allied Democratic Forces carried out the attack late Friday night on a school in the border town of Mpondwe.

The death toll in Uganda's school attack has risen to at least 41 deaths. 

Ugandan police blame rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) of a suspected attack on a school near the Congo border.

On Saturday, police said in a statement that Islamic extremists Allied Democratic Forces carried out the attack late on Friday night on a school in the border town of Mpondwe.

The school is located about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles, Ed.) from the Congo border.

Most of the victims were students.

The statement said Ugandan government troops tracked the attackers into Congolese territory.

The ADF has been accused of launching many attacks in recent years targeting civilians in remote parts of eastern Congo. The shadowy group rarely claims responsibility for attacks.

The rebels have long opposed the rule of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, a U.S. security ally who has held power in this East African country since 1986. 

Established in the early 1990s in Uganda, the ADF was later forced to flee into eastern Congo, where many rebel groups are able to operate because Congo’s central government has limited control there.

The ADF has ties with the Islamic State group.