The killing of newlyweds in a famed safari spot in western Uganda sparked on Wednesday a hunt for the assailants, who the country's authorities believe are Congolese militants.

The couple, who were celebrating their honeymoon, and their tour guide were killed and their safari vehicle set alight in Queen Elizabeth National Park, which shares a border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

What do we know about the attack?

The couple, a British man and a South African woman, and their Ugandan tour guide, were set upon at around 6 p.m. local time on Tuesday on a road in the Queen Elizabeth National Park in southwest Uganda, a remote part of the country close to the border with Congo.

Local police released an image of a green four-wheel drive vehicle that had been set on fire.

Ugandan military spokesman Felix Kulayigye said a joint army, police and wildlife authority force "has deployed all resources, both technical and physical, in pursuit of these terrorists and will ensure they account for their heinous acts."

Britain has warned its citizens against traveling to the park. 

In a statement on social media, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni described the murders as "a cowardly act" and promised that "these terrorists will pay with their own wretched lives."

Uganda blames DRC militants

Uganda's president described it as an "isolated attack," and insisted that Uganda remains a safe country.

Museveni blamed the killing of the innocent trio on "a small group of terrorists running away from our operations in Congo... and re-entering Uganda and trying to commit some random terrorist acts."

Police have blamed the attack specifically on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) group, which is affiliated with the so-called Islamic State (IS) extremist organization.

ADF is already accused of killing thousands of civilians in the violence-ravaged eastern Congo region.

Tuesday's attack followed Museveni's claim that Ugandan police had foiled an ADF bomb plot on churches 50 kilometer (30 miles) from the capital Kampala and that Uganda had carried out a series of air strikes against ADF positions in Congo, with multiple militants killed.

In June of this year, ADF killed 42 people including 37 students in a high school in western Uganda, close to Congo.

In 2019, a US tourist and her tour guide were kidnapped by four gunmen during an evening game drive through the same park. They were returned after a ransom was paid. 

mds/fb (AFP, AP, Reuters)