Ethiopia: Parcel bomb kills 1

2005-09-30 13:12

Addis Ababa - Ethiopian police were searching for clues on Friday behind the first-ever reported incident of a parcel bombing which killed one person and wounded seven persons the day before.

Among the seven wounded were five policemen as the parcel went off at a police station while a bomb expert was trying to defuse it, the government daily The Ethiopian Herald reported.

The report said the parcel had been addressed to Mesfin Lemma, the local district head of the state telecommunications corporation in the Saris district of southern Addis Ababa.

The paper said the parcel, wrapped in gift paper, was delivered by an unidentified person at Lemma's office. Lemma became suspicious and immediately notified the police in the area.

The parcel was taken to the Saris District Police Station where it detonated, killing the bomb expert trying to defuse it, and seven other persons nearby.

Police said it was the first criminal act of its kind in the country and search has been mounted to track down those behind it. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA