Text Fwd: Korea’s Afghan base under rocket attack

Korea Times
Korea’s Afghan base under rocket attack
02-09-2011 20:10


By Kang Hyun-kyung

Korea’s provincial reconstruction team (PRT) base in Charikar, Afghanistan, came under rocket attack early Wednesday (KST) but no casualties were reported, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

A foreign ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity that five rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) were fired at the base _ two were found outside, while the remaining three were inside.

So far no armed forces or individuals have claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Upon a request from the Korean authorities shortly after the incident, local police arrived on the scene to investigate the case. The government plans to work together with the local police to investigate the rocket attack.

The PRT base in Charikar, the capital city of the northern Afghan province of Parwan, is a brand-new facility in which a total of 369 South Koreans, including 277 troops from the Ashena unit, are stationed.

Previously, they were based in another PRT site in Bagram and relocated to the new one in Charikar this January after construction was completed.

Korea was scheduled to hold an opening ceremony for the newly-built base on February 14. But the foreign ministry official said this was subject to change. Officials from the foreign ministry plan to discuss the matter with their counterparts from related ministries.

The rocket attack coincided with Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin’s visit to the PRT site. Kim is on a five-day trip to Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates to show support for Korean troops stationed there.

Kim arrived in Afghanistan, Monday, and inspected the condition of the troops there protecting the base and civilian aid workers.

Kim separately met Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and his Afghan counterpart Abdul Rahim Wardak.

Wardak said the rocket attack came hours after Kim’s visit to the base. He remained cautious on whether the attack targeted the defense minister, pointing to the fact that Kim’s schedule was not made public.

This is the third attack on Korean PRT, following ones last June and this January, respectively. In June, two rockets were fired at site in Charikar, which was then under construction. No workers were harmed in the attack.

In the second attack, rockets were found approximately 400-meter outside the site. Due to the location, the foreign ministry said it was not clear whether the attack targeted the PRT or not.

The team was dispatched to help reconstruct the war-torn country through medical, health and vocational training and rural development assistance. The Ashena unit is tasked with guarding Korean reconstruction workers and 40 police officers.



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