Ethiopia bomb on Derg anniversary

A bomb explosion in Ethiopia has killed three people and injured five more at a hotel in the town of Ngele in the eastern Somali region.

The attack happened as Ethiopians celebrated the anniversary of the overthrow of the former military government, known as the Derg.

A Somali radio station reported that a Somali Islamic militant group had claimed responsibility.

A year ago, bombers targeted a similar ceremony in Jijiga, the area's capital.

Six people were killed in that attack and many others were injured, including the regional president.

'Three blasts'

The BBC's Elizabeth Blunt in the capital, Addis Ababa, says official events are being held all over the country to mark the downfall of the Derg in 1991.

An Ethiopian government spokesman, who confirmed that attack, said the victims were innocent civilians, not soldiers or government officials.

Although the spokesman gave no further details, a Mogadishu-based Somali radio station, Radio Shebelle, reported that residents of the town heard three powerful explosions from the area where an official ceremony was taking place.

It broadcast a statement by the leader of a Somali militant group, which said the explosions were aimed at "the Ethiopians, the enemy of Islam".

In December 2006, Ethiopia helped oust Islamists who had been in control of much of southern Somalia that year.

Ethiopia still has troops in Somalia, supporting the interim government, and they are often the target of Islamist insurgents.