Sinai rocked by fresh bomb attack

04/26/2006

BBC News
April 26, 2006

Two suicide bombers attacked security personnel and peacekeepers in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing themselves but not injuring their targets.

The first bomber blew himself up as members of the Mutlinational Force and Observers(MFO) were passing in a car.

A second attacker on a bicycle tried detonate his bomb near a police car which had gone to the scene.

The attacks come two days after a triple bombing on the Sinai resort town of Dahab, which killed 23 people.

The MFO is an independent peacekeeping force stationed in Sinai since 1982, following the Egypt-Israeli peace deal.

The attacks took place near the MFO camp at Goura, about 35km (22 miles) from the Mediterranean city of Arish.

Two international observers, a Norwegian and a New Zealander, were on board the first vehicle with an Egyptian customs officer and an immigration office, officials said.

The second attack occurred about three-quarters of an hour after the first, officials added.

There are also unconfirmed reports of a incident at a police checkpoint on the mainland in the Nile Delta region.

Unidentified gunmen reportedly opened fire on the police post north-east of Cairo, a security official said in quotes reported by AFP news agency.