Five foreign tourists were killed in northeastern Ethiopia in an attack the government blamed on neighboring Eritrea, government officials said Wednesday.

The nationalities of the dead were not immediately clear, but officials said Europeans were among the victims. The attack took place between Monday night and early Tuesday morning.

Four people were also kidnapped in the attack, two of whom were foreign nationals, officials said.

The tourists were visiting Ethiopia's remote Afar region, a barren shrubland and desert with shallow salt lakes and volcanoes reported to be one of the hottest regions on earth. The region is sometimes used by bandits and rebels from Ethiopia and Eritrea who regularly cross over the border.

Government spokesman Bereket Simon blamed the attack on "terrorist groups trained and armed by the Eritrean government." Eritrea's envoy to the African Union responded by calling the accusation "pathetic" and "an absolute lie."

In 2007, five Europeans were kidnapped and later released unharmed in exchange for a ransom.

Author: Andrew Bowen (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)
Editor: Nancy Isenson