NZ soldier caught up in new Egypt blast

A New Zealander has escaped injury in twin suicide attacks targeting security personnel in Egypt.

The attacks came two days after triple bombings killed 24 people in a resort further south.

One suicide bomber targeted an Egyptian police officer and peacekeepers from the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) near the Gaza Strip border town of Rafah.

The second suicide bomber targeted Egyptian police as they rushed to the scene of the first explosion.

The soldier was named today as Army Private Joshua Roewen, who has been in the Army for three years and is 21-years-old. He  was driving close to the North Camp base at the time of one of the explosions.

Private Roewen's quick actions assisted in getting the vehicle away from the danger area, the army said.

Lieutenant Colonel Mike Shatford said: "He is coping well with the situation and is undergoing critical incident management support from MFO staff, which occurs routinely after any significant event. He is expected to remain with the MFO to complete his deployment."

Major Denise MacKay added that Private Roewen was not hurt, and was driven back to the camp soon after the incident. She said the soldier was driving an MFO vehicle near Al-Gura about 25 km west of Gaza, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in an apparent attempt to attack the vehicle.

The explosion happened about 9pm last night NZ time, 11am local time.

She said it was understood an Egyptian and possibly a Norwegian in the vehicle were also uninjured. "The suicide bomber had obviously made an attempt at this vehicle," Major Mackay said.

Private Roewen, on a six-month tour of duty as part of his first overseas deployment, is based at Burnham with the 3rd Land Force Group.

A total of 26 NZ Defence Force members are currently serving with the MFO.

The MFO was set up as part of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt in 1979 that led to Israel's withdrawal from the Sinai. It is partially paid for by the United States and has US advisers, although its troops are drawn from 15 countries, including Canada, the US and others.

New Zealand has been involved with the force for several years.

The blast hit outside the air base where the multinational force is headquartered in the northern part of the Sinai Peninsula.

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 past 18 months.

- NEWSTALK ZB, NZPA, HERALD ONLINE STAFF