Uganda's military said on Tuesday that at least eleven Islamist militants had been killed overnight in a raid over the border in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The raid targeted the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which started as an uprising in western Uganda in the mid-90s. Now, it largely operates out of the eastern DRC.

Since its inception the group has killed thousands of civilians, and its leaders have become more ardent Islamists, declaring allegiance to the "Islamic State" group in 2019.

Uganda ramps up anti-militant force

The operation came after an attack on Monday night, Uganda's military said, when dozens of ADF fighters crossed into Uganda and started a firefight with soldiers stationed in Ntoroko district.

An "estimated 20-30 ADF fighters last night crossed River Semliki... Our intelligence got wind of them and they were intercepted," Brigadier-General Felix Kulayigye, spokesman for the Ugandan military, said in a statement.

According to local media, they also shot at civilians, killing at least three.

Following a series of ADF-related bombings around Kampala late last year, Uganda promised to step up its military operations against the group. Hundreds of troops have been deployed to work in tandem with their DRC counterparts along the border, and another 1,000 soldiers have been pledged to a different regional force aimed at stopping decades of instability in eastern Congo.

es/msh (AFP, Reuters)