Islamist group blamed for blast
2008-09-29 14:03
Addis Ababa - Ethiopian police on Monday blamed an Islamist rebel group for a weekend explosion that killed four people and wounded 22 others in the country's eastern region.
The police chief of the Somali province in eastern Ethiopian, where the incident occurred, said a suspect had confessed to being a member of the Al-Ittihad Al-Islamiya operating in the region.
"We are in the process of hunting down two other suspects identified by the individual in charge of the blast who is already under our custody," Yusuf Mahmoud Mussai said.
"He has confessed that he is a member of al-Ittihad al-Islamiya.
Al-Ittihad al-Islamiya was formed in 1984 in northern Somalia which borders Ethiopia's restive eastern region, where another rebel group, also formed the in same year, operates.
The government has also repeatedly blamed the Islamist group previous attacks in the capital Addis Ababa.
The Somali province has been hit by a series of attacks attributed to separatist rebels in recent years.
Last year the army launched an offensive against the Ogaden Nation Liberation Front after they attacked a Chinese-run oil venture and killed 77 people.