S. Koreans attacked again in Yemen but unharmed: ministry

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with details; CHANGES lead, headline)
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, March 18 (Yonhap) -- A convoy of vehicles carrying South Korean diplomats
and civilians on a visit to Yemen to investigate a deadly terror attack on South
Korean tourists earlier this week came under attack Wednesday in the Yemeni
capital, Sanna, but no one was hurt, Seoul's foreign ministry said.
The attacked officials included a couple of foreign ministry officials dispatched
there to deal with the aftermath of the explosion on Sunday night (Seoul time) in
Yemen's eastern city of Shibam and several diplomats at the South Korean embassy,
the ministry said.
Sunday's explosion, for which Yemeni authorities said al-Qaida was responsible,
killed four South Koreans and wounded three others on a group tour there.
Some bereaved families of the victims were also aboard the bombed vehicles, said
the ministry.
"A bomb exploded abruptly about 10 minutes before the convoy of three vehicles,
led by a police motorcycle, arrived at an airport in Sanna," a ministry official
told reporters on the condition of anonymity.
"Windows of the car in the front were broken, but no one was hurt fortunately,"
he added.
The official said it is unclear whether the attack was a suicide bombing or the
blast of a planted bomb.
"We are also trying to determine whether it targeted South Korean officials or
not," he explained, saying there is a possibility that the attacker might have
believed the convoy involved high-profile Yemeni government officials.
A dozen survivors came back to South Korea on Tuesday, with the bodies of the
dead expected to arrive here on Thursday.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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