FlyingFrog
Active member
Pressian, the Chosun Ilbo and others are reporting that a bounty of
10kg of gold or US$8,000 has been placed by Iraqi (and foreign)
insurgents on the heads of Korean troops and civilians in Iraq. An
official from the Korean Zayitun Unit in Iraq said Friday (local
time), "We've asked civilians to show caution as we've recieved
intelligence that terrorist forces in Iraq were offering rewards to
those who kidnap and bring them Koreans in Iraq." The groups
offering the bounty apparently include Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Tawhid
wal Jihad crew, who were responsible for the kidnapping and murder
of Korean Kim Sun-il in June.
Similar rewards were placed on the heads of Koreans residing in
Iraq while Korean engineering and medical units were deployed in the
southern city of Nassiriya, and bounties have also been placed on
other foreigners in Iraq, but following the Kim Sun-il incident, the
rewards for Koreans increased relative to other foreign nationals,
said an official residing in Arbil. Or, as the Chosun Ilbo quotes
the Zayitun Unit official, "A bounty has been placed not just on
Koreans, but civilians of all those nations that deployed troops to
Iraq, but as I understand it, when the death of Kim Sun-il caused a
huge stir, the bounty on Koreans went up relative to other
foreigners in Iraq."
66 Korean civilians reside in the Arbil area, mostly contractors for
the Korean military. Since Oct. 2, when Korea was officially named
to al-Qaeda's hit list, they've been confined to base. Security
measures have also been heightened.
What's more, the Chosun Ilbo ?citing a government source ?reported
Saturday that as Korean troops were making their Kuwait to Arbil
last month, insurgents fired off two RPG-7s (which luckily missed)
at their convoy in an incident north of Baghdad, an incident
government and military authorities failed to announce out of fear
of heightening feelings of insecurity at home. A Defense Ministry
official indirectly confirmed the incident to Pressian, saying that
he had heard that the attack was not aimed at the Korean troops, but
at the U.S. troops escorting the convoy.
When the Defense Ministry announced on Sept. 22 that Korean troops
had successfully completed their deployment to Arbil, it noted that
on the way from Kuwait, two improvised explosive devices were
discovered along the convoy's route, but no mention was made of the
RPG attack.
Not only is this news going to heighten concerns about troop safety ?br /> the antitank RPG-7 can penetrate 30cm of armor and has caused
significant losses to U.S. tanks, armored vehicles and Humvees in
Iraq, explained Pressian ?but the Defense Ministry is likely to
face criticism that it intentionally hid news of the incident in
order to avoid voices critical of the Iraq deployment.
I remember they already cut off one Korean's head, didn't they?
10kg of gold or US$8,000 has been placed by Iraqi (and foreign)
insurgents on the heads of Korean troops and civilians in Iraq. An
official from the Korean Zayitun Unit in Iraq said Friday (local
time), "We've asked civilians to show caution as we've recieved
intelligence that terrorist forces in Iraq were offering rewards to
those who kidnap and bring them Koreans in Iraq." The groups
offering the bounty apparently include Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's Tawhid
wal Jihad crew, who were responsible for the kidnapping and murder
of Korean Kim Sun-il in June.
Similar rewards were placed on the heads of Koreans residing in
Iraq while Korean engineering and medical units were deployed in the
southern city of Nassiriya, and bounties have also been placed on
other foreigners in Iraq, but following the Kim Sun-il incident, the
rewards for Koreans increased relative to other foreign nationals,
said an official residing in Arbil. Or, as the Chosun Ilbo quotes
the Zayitun Unit official, "A bounty has been placed not just on
Koreans, but civilians of all those nations that deployed troops to
Iraq, but as I understand it, when the death of Kim Sun-il caused a
huge stir, the bounty on Koreans went up relative to other
foreigners in Iraq."
66 Korean civilians reside in the Arbil area, mostly contractors for
the Korean military. Since Oct. 2, when Korea was officially named
to al-Qaeda's hit list, they've been confined to base. Security
measures have also been heightened.
What's more, the Chosun Ilbo ?citing a government source ?reported
Saturday that as Korean troops were making their Kuwait to Arbil
last month, insurgents fired off two RPG-7s (which luckily missed)
at their convoy in an incident north of Baghdad, an incident
government and military authorities failed to announce out of fear
of heightening feelings of insecurity at home. A Defense Ministry
official indirectly confirmed the incident to Pressian, saying that
he had heard that the attack was not aimed at the Korean troops, but
at the U.S. troops escorting the convoy.
When the Defense Ministry announced on Sept. 22 that Korean troops
had successfully completed their deployment to Arbil, it noted that
on the way from Kuwait, two improvised explosive devices were
discovered along the convoy's route, but no mention was made of the
RPG attack.
Not only is this news going to heighten concerns about troop safety ?br /> the antitank RPG-7 can penetrate 30cm of armor and has caused
significant losses to U.S. tanks, armored vehicles and Humvees in
Iraq, explained Pressian ?but the Defense Ministry is likely to
face criticism that it intentionally hid news of the incident in
order to avoid voices critical of the Iraq deployment.
I remember they already cut off one Korean's head, didn't they?
