Uganda police said Sunday they foiled a bomb attack on a cathedral in Kampala and detained a man accused of trying to detonate an explosive in a crowd of worshippers.

Hundreds of congregants were evacuated from the Rubaga Miracle Centre Cathedral in the capital city after a man tried to enter the grounds carrying an explosive, said police spokesman Patrick Onyango.

“We have carried out a controlled detonation of the improvised explosive device which was made of nails, a motorcycle battery, a charger and a telephone handset which was to be used in the attack,” he told reporters outside the cathedral.

He said police trailed the man after receiving a tip off about a possible attack on a house of worship, and discovered the bomb inside his backpack when he was stopped and searched.

He said police were pursuing three other men after the suspect, 28-year-old Ibrahim Kintu, revealed that he may have had accomplices.

The cathedral was cordoned off and sniffer dogs and bomb squad officers sent to comb the expansive grounds, but no further threat was found.

Its high-profile pastor, Robert Kayanja, told AFP that “the lord has saved us from deaths”.(Courtesy, excluding headline, AFP)