Ethiopia says arrests 8 bombers

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia says it has arrested eight "Eritrean-trained" rebels suspected of carrying out bombings that rocked the capital Addis Ababa and killed eight people earlier this year.

A statement by security chiefs late on Saturday said the attacks were sponsored by arch-foe Asmara "and implemented by its stooges in Ethiopia, the self-proclaimed Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF)."

Simultaneous blasts at two petrol stations killed two people a day after local, regional and federal elections in April, then a bomb tore through a minibus taxi a month later, killing six.

The statement by the National Intelligence and Security Service did not say when or where the detainees were arrested, but said three "most wanted" suspects remained at large and urged the public could come forward with information.

Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a 1998-2000 border war that killed 70,000 people, and tensions remain high. Officials in Addis Ababa often refer to their counterparts in Amara as terrorists.

Eritrean officials routinely reject Ethiopia's allegations, including that it backs the separatist OLF and ONLF rebels.

(Reporting by Tsegaye Tadesse; Writing by Daniel Wallis)

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