Children among those killed in gruesome school attack in Uganda

Around 40 people, including children, were massacred at a school in western Uganda by Islamic State-affiliated insurgents, while eight individuals are in serious condition following the attack on Mpondwe's Lhubiriha secondary school.

Boys from the school's dorms were among those killed. The attack on Friday was carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan militia located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

During the attack, ADF rebels burned a dormitory and plundered a grocery shop. According to Ugandan army Major General Dick Olum, a number of boys were burned or hacked to death.

Others at the school, mostly girls, have been kidnapped, he said. Some of the remains are claimed to have been severely burned, and DNA testing will be required to identify the victims.

The assailants are claimed to have set fire to the pupils' mattresses and detonated bombs in the area. Members of the larger community may be among the deceased, while a number of pupils are still missing.

On Saturday, soldiers started tracking ADF terrorists toward the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Virunga National Park, Africa's oldest and largest national park, which is home to endangered animals such as mountain gorillas.

Militias, especially the ADF, exploit the huge territory that borders Uganda and Rwanda as a safe haven.