Kampala, Jun 17 (IANS): At least 25 people were killed and eight others critically injured after militants linked to the Islamic State terror group attacked a school in Uganda, police said on Saturday.

The attack took place on Friday at the Lhubiriha secondary school in Mpondwe, reports the BBC.

In a statement, the police said the attack was carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) -- a Ugandan group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Soldiers are pursuing the group who fled towards Virunga National park in the DRC, police added.

"So far 25 bodies have been recovered from the school and transferred to Bwera Hospital", the BBC quoted national police spokesperson Fred Enaga as saying in a statement on Saturday.

A dormitory at the school was burnt and a food store was looted during Friday night's attack, he added.

The attack on the school, located less than 2 km from Uganda's border with the DRC, is the first in many years.

ADF rebels have been operating from inside the DRC for the past two decades.