<div><b><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Around 40 people, mostly students, have been killed at a school in western Uganda by rebels linked to the Islamic State group.</span><br></b></div><div><br></div><div>A further eight people remain in a critical condition after the attack on Lhubiriha secondary school in Mpondwe.</div><div><br></div><div>Boys who were staying in dormitories at the school are among the dead.</div><div>The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) - a Ugandan group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - have been blamed for Friday's attack.</div><div><br></div><div>Many of the bodies were transferred to Bwera Hospital, national police spokesperson Fred Enanga said.</div><div><br></div><div>The attack happened at around 23:30 local time (20:30 GMT) on Friday at the school in the Kasese district in western Uganda.</div><div><br></div><div>Over 60 people are educated at the school, most of whom live there</div><div><br></div><div>ADF rebels burnt a dormitory and a food store was also looted during the incident, Mr Enanga said.</div><div><br></div><div>Some of the boys were burnt or hacked to death, Major General Dick Olum from the Ugandan army told the media.</div><div><br></div><div>Others at the school, mostly girls, have been abducted by the group, he added.</div><div><br></div><div>Some of the bodies are said to have been badly burnt and DNA tests will need to be carried out to identify them.</div><div><br></div><div>The attackers are said to have torched the students' mattresses and are also thought to have detonated bombs in the region.</div><div><br></div><div>Members of the wider community are possibly among the dead. A number of students remain unaccounted for.</div><div><br></div><div>Soldiers are pursuing ADF insurgents towards the DRC's Virunga National park - Africa's oldest and largest national park which is home to rare species, including mountain gorillas.</div><div><br></div><div>Militias including the ADF also use the vast expanse, which borders Uganda and Rwanda, as a hideout.</div><div><br></div><div>The attack on the school, located less than two kilometres (1.25 miles) from the DRC border, is the first such attack on a Ugandan school in 25 years. - BBC</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>