The commander of an Islamic State-allied rebel group who is an expert in making improvised explosive devices, or bombs, has been arrested by the Ugandan military.

The insurgent, Ugandan Anywari Al Iraq, was apprehended in the jungles of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the rebel organization Allied Democratic Forces is located, according to a statement from the Uganda People's Defence Forces.

PHOTO | COURTESY military

The military reported that nine individuals, including children, were rescued during the operation in Ituri province in eastern Congo.

"An assortment of improvised explosive device (IED) making materials were recovered," added the statement.

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The rebel ADF originated as an insurgency in Uganda but has been based in Congo since the late 1990s. It swore allegiance to the Islamic State in mid-2019 and has been accused of murdering hundreds of people in repeated raids in previous years.

PHOTO | COURTESY The suspect

The organisation was responsible for one of its most lethal acts, a triple suicide bombing in the Ugandan capital Kampala in November 2021, which killed seven people, including the bombers.

To combat the insurgency, the Ugandan army and the Congolese military started a combined operation in the country's east in 2021.