Explosion rocks Ethiopian capital, three dead - police

By Barry Malone and Tsegaye Tadesse

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - An explosion on a minibus shook central Addis Ababa on Tuesday, killing three people and wounding nine, Ethiopian police said.

All the dead and wounded were on the bus, police said.

"Three people were killed and nine seriously injured by an explosion from a device planted by suspected terrorists inside a minibus taxi," said Addis Ababa police spokesman Densash Hailu.

The blast on a road between the Hilton hotel and the foreign ministry was the latest in a string of explosions in Addis Ababa that Ethiopia has blamed on extremists backed by its neighbour and rival Eritrea.

Scores of policemen and soldiers rushed to the scene, cordoning off the area as fire engines arrived.

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government routinely refers to the Eritrean government, with whom it fought a 1998-2000 border war, as terrorists.

Eritrea routinely denies the allegations, saying Meles faces an array of internal opponents.

A taxi driver who asked not to be named said he saw rescuers pulling out several dead people.