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

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)