Sudan says Israel bombed arms factory

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KHARTOUM, Sudan, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Sudan's Information Minister accused Israel Wednesday of bombing an arms factory in Khartoum and said his country reserves the right to respond.

Culture and Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman told a news conference in Khartoum he believes Israel is responsible for the Tuesday night explosion at the factory, the StarAfrica.com, the BBC and Israel Radio reported.

"We think Israel did the bombing. ... We reserve the right to react at a place and time we choose," he said. Osman said four military planes that flew in from the east bombed the Yarmouk arms and ammunition factory.

Israel had no comment on Sudan's accusations.

Osman's statements however conflicted with those made by other government officials shortly after the blast.

In a televised statement after the explosion, Khartoum state Gov. Abdel Rahman al-Khidr said the cause was unclear but ruled out the possibility of foreign action, The Sudan Tribune said.

Al-Sawarmi Khalid Saad, spokesman for the Sudanese armed forces, told the newspaper an explosion occurred in one of the storage facilities. He said an investigation was under way.

The explosion rocked the Sudanese capital about midnight Tuesday, causing panic with fire spreading to nearby buildings, the Tribune said. Following the blast, Sudanese security troops sealed off the area, the paper said. There were no reports of casualties.

Earlier Tuesday, rebel forces of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement North shelled three police checkpoints in Kadugli, capital of South Kordofan state.

Saad said two children were killed and eight people injured.

SPLM-N spokesperson Arnu Loddi denied SAF claims rebel forces had targeted civilian areas.

An attack by SPLM-N forces earlier this month inside Kadugli killed six people and wounded 22 others.