Suicide Bombers dies in failed attempt at Ethiopia Football Match

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)