A crude roadside bomb is being blamed for injuring two Canadian members of an international peace-monitoring force in Egypt's Sinai region.

The two Canadian soldiers -- serving in the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) -- were both women sergeants, according to senior Egyptian security officials.

The Canadian peacekeepers had been travelling in an MFO vehicle, not far from their base when the explosion occurred.

The injuries were minor and both returned to duty afterward, the governor of North Sinai, Ahmed Abdel Hamid, told state TV.

Hamid said the blast was caused by a natural gas canister planted on the roadside and detonated through a wire. A second canister failed to explode.

The canisters were filled with explosives, according to local security officials.

The blast was loud enough to be heard in the Gaza Strip, about 15 kilometres from the MFO base, Palestinian Authority officials told The Associated Press.

In Ottawa, the Department of National Defence confirmed two members of the Canadian Forces were slightly injured, but that "they have since returned to their normal duties" after being checked by medical staff, said a statement.

"The explosion destroyed the van in which they were riding," the statement said. "The van carrying the Canadian personnel was travelling on an approved route."

The department declined to identify the soldiers, citing the Privacy Act.

Ian Baxendell, a spokesperson for MFO, said the soldiers were "lightly wounded" but gave no details about gender or age.

Baxendell also refused to call the incident an attack.

"You cannot call it an attack because it was on a public highway and we're not certain of how it occurred,'' Baxendell told AP in Cairo.

A white mini-bus bearing the MFO logo was found at the scene of the explosion. It had flat tires and broken windows.

The blast comes as Israel begins implementing its withdrawal plan in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. It is evacuating Jewish settlers and will eventually pull out its troops.

After the pullout, Egypt is expected to deploy hundreds of troops along the border with Gaza to boost security.

The multinational force is made up of 1,800 members from 11 countries. It was created to help implement the 1979 Camp David peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.

Canada has a 29-member team contributing to the MFO. Members include air traffic controllers, administrators and support personnel. They are located in El Gorah, Egypt.

The Canadian contribution is called Operation Calumet. When the operation began, in 1986, Canada sent a helicopter unit and 140 personnel to Egypt, which has since been scaled back.