Suicide bombers Die In Failed Plot At Super Eagles Match In Ethiopia

Suicide bombers die in failed plot at
Ethiopia football match
By Aaron Maasho | Reuters – 6 hours ago
By Aaron Maasho
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Two Somali
suicide bombers who had planned to kill
football fans during Ethiopia's World Cup
qualifying match against Nigeria on Sunday
blew themselves up accidentally before
carrying out the attack, the Ethiopian
government said on Monday.
The explosion on Sunday happened in the
upscale Bole district of the capital, about 5
km (3 miles) from Addis Ababa Stadium
where thousands of fans were gathering for
the match.
"They were Somali nationals and plotted to
carry out a suicide attack disguised as fans
on either the stadium or areas where large
crowds gathered to watch the game,"
government spokesman Shimeles Kemal
said.
Explosives, arms, hand grenades and
football shirts were found at the scene of
the blast, at a residential address an hour
before kick-off, Shimeles said. Three
suspects were detained. The Bole district
has a small Somali refugee community.
"Heavy police presence must have caused
their nervousness and state of agitation
which led to the detonation that caused
their own death," Shimeles said.
There was no immediate claim of
responsibility.
Somalia's al Shabaab Islamist rebels have
vowed to exact revenge on Ethiopia for
sending troops to Somalia to fight the al
Qaeda-linked militants, alongside African
Union forces from Uganda, Burundi and
Kenya.
Ethiopia says it has thwarted attacks over
the past two years which it has blamed on
domestic rebel groups as well as the Somali
insurgents.
However, it has so far been spared the
sorts of attacks carried out in nearby
countries - such as the siege at the Nairobi
mall last month and an attack on football
fans in Uganda in 2010.
(Reporting by Aaron Maasho; Editing by
Drazen Jorgic and Robin Pomeroy)
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