A senior Ethiopian government official said the accused of trying to seize power in the northern state of Amhara was shot dead on Monday and several other coup leaders were arrested.
The government accused General Asamniu Tseiji of orchestrating gun attacks on Saturday evening that killed five, including the Ethiopian army chief of staff and the head of Amhara state.
The prime minister's press secretary, Negaso Tilahun, told Reuters that Asamanio was shot dead on Monday near Bahr Dar, the capital of Amhara, without giving further details.
The reasons for the coup attempt remain unclear, although it is likely that Asamniou reacted to a plan by state officials to curtail him after reports that he had ethnic statements and was recruiting fighters in militias.
The Amhara region is self-governing and its government is headed by one of the ruling coalition parties, the Amhara Democratic Party.
Great changes
The violence erupted on Saturday in the form of two separate attacks, where army chief of staff Siri Mukonen and a retired general were shot dead by Siri's bodyguard at his residence in Addis Ababa.
Amhara President Ampacho Mukonen and one of his advisers were also killed in the state's main city of Bahr Dar.
State media said the state prosecutor of Amhara was also injured and died on Monday from his wounds.
Internet users reported that the service was apparently obscured across Ethiopia, at a time when the streets of Addis Ababa were quiet on Monday.
Prime Minister Abe Ahmed has embarked on sweeping changes since taking office in April last year, holding peace with Eritrea, curbing the influence of the security services, releasing political prisoners and lifting restrictions on some banned separatist groups.
Its reforms in Africa's second most populous country have received international acclaim.
But the restructuring of the army and the intelligence services have made him powerful enemies, at a time when his government is trying to contain influential figures in the many ethnic groups at home fighting the federal government and fighting among themselves to seize more power and resources.