Korean site in Afghanistan under attack

A group of armed assailants attacked a Korean-operated construction site in northern Afghanistan, killing one Bangladeshi worker and apparently abducting seven others after a gunfight with local police, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Saturday.

The raid on Friday night (local time) did not harm any Korean workers at the site, a ministry official said, adding that their company has decided to bring them home after the attack.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity and did not identify the company. The attack, which sparked a gunfight that lasted one hour and 40 minutes, is the latest violent incident involving a Korean company in the war-torn country. Earlier this month, two Korean construction workers were rescued after being briefly kidnapped by unidentified assailants in northern Afghanistan, according to the Foreign Ministry. The Korean company attacked this week was constructing a road in the province of Balkh, the ministry official said. The Taliban, which Afghan media identified as responsible for the kidnappings earlier this month, made a threat last year against Korea, which plans to finish construction of a base in the northern Afghan province of Parwan in February.

Yonhap