ISIS-linked murderers who shot dead British honeymooner and his wife during safari are killed by Ugandan troops
ISIS-linked terrorists who shot dead a British newlywed and his wife during a safari have been killed by Ugandan troops, an army spokesman said.
Parish councilor David Barlow, 50, and his wife, South African woman Celia Geyer, 51, were killed in a hail of bullets when insurgents fleeing Ugandan forces randomly encountered their truck.
Their Ugandan guide, 40-year-old Eric Alyai, was also brutally murdered in the attack last month, leaving behind a wife and a year-old child.
It is understood the couple had married just a few days earlier in South Africa’s Western Cape and enjoyed their honeymoon in Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda.
Their killers, believed to be part of the ISIS-affiliated Allied Democratic Force, set fire to the truck and fled, leaving the group’s bodies behind in the flaming wreckage.
Uganda’s People’s Defense Forces have launched an operation to track down the killers, saying they have now gunned down the militants.
David Barlow, 50, (left) and his new wife Celia, 51, (right) were killed during a safari honeymoon in Uganda when they were randomly ambushed by insurgents linked to ISIS
The tourists and their guide were killed while driving through a safari park in Uganda
UPDF spokesman Lt. Col. Deo Akiiki said the killers were among a group of ADF fighters killed on Tuesday evening.
The Ugandan military said it is now tracking down all descendants of the terror group.
“It should be noted that this was part of the group that killed the tourists. The operation to end all ADF splinter groups is still ongoing,” he said.
At a press conference after the killings, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni vowed that the terrorists would “pay with their own miserable lives.”
“A few tourists and the Ugandan driver with them were killed on the Katwe-Kabatooro Murram road at around 6pm, by a small group of terrorists running away from our operations in Congo,” he said.
“It was an act of cowardice on the part of the terrorists who attacked innocent civilians and tragic for the newlyweds who were visiting Uganda on their honeymoon.”
At a press conference after the killings, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni vowed that the terrorists would “pay with their own miserable lives.”
Following their deaths, Tory MP for Newbury Laura Farris today paid her respects to the couple.
She said: ‘The whole community is shocked by this terrible and incomprehensible attack on David and Celia Barlow while they were on their honeymoon – what should have been one of the happiest moments of their lives.
‘They were loved and respected in Hampstead Norreys where they lived and in Thatcham where David and his family ran their business.
“I have written to the Foreign Secretary asking the government to provide the Ugandan authorities with the utmost support in identifying and arresting the cowardly terrorists suspected of being responsible for this atrocity.”
Colleagues of Mr Barlow on the parish council of Hampstead Norreys, in Berkshire, where he lived, confirmed they had received news of his death.
Dr. Sarah Marshman, a clerk, confirmed Mr Barlow had died and said the tragic news had reached council members this morning.
Celia’s employer, Belmond, said in a statement after her death: ‘We are deeply saddened by the tragic news of the death of our colleague Celia Geyer along with her husband David, while on honeymoon in Uganda.
“Celia is a true pioneer through and through and a highly respected leader in our industry. She is a much loved member of our Belmond family and will be greatly missed.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to the family of Celia and David.”