EGYPT: A small blast caused by an explosive device in the road damaged a vehicle belonging to a multinational observer force in Egypt's Sinai yesterday, lightly injuring two Canadians, an Egyptian official said.
North Sinai governor Ahmed Abdel-Hamid told an Egyptian television channel that a second device made of a gas canister connected to a detonator had been found near the site of the first blast on a road in north Sinai.
An official with the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) said a blast occurred under an MFO vehicle in which two female Canadian military personnel received minor injuries.
An Egyptian security source had earlier said the blast was caused by a landmine left over from past Egyptian-Israeli wars.
The MFO, which has contingents from 11 countries, was set up to supervise security provisions in the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty signed in 1979.
The blast occurred near the MFO camp at El Gorah, about 35km (22 miles) from the north Sinai town of El Arish, where Egyptian security has carried out intensive investigations after bombings in Taba in October and Sharm el-Sheikh in July.
One security source said the explosion occurred on a road to the MFO camp.