Suicide bombers blow themselves up by mistake at Ethiopia football match

Two Somali suicide bombers foiled their plans of killing football fans during Ethiopia’s World Cup qualifying match against Nigeria on Sunday by accidentally blowing themselves up before carrying out the attack.

Reports from Reuters said that the explosion happened on Sunday 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.

The Bole district, which is not too far from the stadium has a small community of Somalian refugees, and explosives, arms, hand grenades and football shirts were found at the scene of the blast.

“Heavy police presence must have caused their nervousness and state of agitation which led to the detonation that caused their own death,” Shimeles said.