peacekeepers bombed in egypt Blasts near peacekeeping base in...

peacekeepers bombed in egypt Blasts near peacekeeping base in Egypt

Wednesday, April 26, 2006; Posted: 10:49 a.m. EDT (14:49 GMT)


CAIRO, Egypt (CNN) -- Two suicide bombers attempted to attack a multinational force vehicle and a police command post in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula, an Egyptian government spokesman says.

Wednesday's attacks took place south of the Rafa border crossing to Gaza. They came two days after a triple bombing killed 18 people at the Sinai resort city on the Red Sea.

The bombers in Wednesday's attack killed themselves but no one else, said Magdy Rady, a spokesman for the Egyptian prime minister.

Speaking from Cairo, Rady told CNN that the first bomber was riding a motorbike. He exploded himself near a multinational force vehicle at around 11:10 a.m. local time (0910 GMT).

A statement from the Multinational Force and Observers said the attack occurred about 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) north of the MFO base at el Gorah in the Sinai.

The statement said the vehicle was damaged but personnel from Norway and New Zealand as well as two Egyptian officials in the vehicle were not hurt.

The second bomber exploded himself near a police command post at 11:25 local time, Rady said.

He said there were no other injuries or "material damage."

Rady said he believed there was a connection between Wednesday's attack and the Dahab bombings on Monday. (Full story)

MPO peacekeepers have been stationed in the region since 1982, operating under the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt. The MFO is made up of troops from 11 countries, including the Untied States.

The Sinai -- Egypt's desert peninsula that abuts Israel and separates the Mediterranean from the Red Sea -- has been wracked by a series of Islamic extremist bombings in the last year and a half. www.cnn.com