Outside This Ugandan Park, a Rare 'Heinous Act'

Two foreign tourists and their Ugandan guide were killed when assailants attacked their vehicle near a national park in southwestern Uganda, a wildlife official said Tuesday. Bashir Hangi, spokesman for the Uganda Wildlife Authority, said the attackers set on fire the vehicle in which the group was traveling just outside Queen Elizabeth National Park. The park, located in a remote area near the Congo border, is one of the country's most popular conservation areas, per the AP.

"The deceased, whose names are withheld, include a Ugandan, a UK citizen, and a South African citizen," a UWA statement notes, per the Guardian. "They were traveling under Gorilla and Wildlife Safaris, a local tour company." Hangi said the UWA and security agencies were working "to establish who could have carried out this heinous act." He didn't provide any more details.

The Uganda Police Force posted a tweet that showed a picture of a burning green four-wheel-drive vehicle, per the BBC. Such an attack is rare in the East African country. It comes at a time when Ugandan troops are hunting down extremist rebels in neighboring Congo. Those Allied Democratic Forces rebels, who are said to be tied to the Islamic State, occasionally carry out cross-border attacks. (More Uganda stories.)