Bodies of S. Korean victims of Yemeni terrorism return to Seoul

SEOUL, March 19 (Yonhap) -- The bodies of four South Koreans killed in a weekend
terrorist bomb attack in Yemen were returned here Thursday, as the South Korean
government tried to determine whether the attack targeted South Koreans or random
foreigners.
The bereaved family members of the victims also arrived in South Korea on the
same plane after visiting the Middle Eastern nation to bring back the bodies. The
weary family members gave no answers to reporters' questions.
The four South Koreans were killed and three others were injured when a suicide
bomber blew himself up on Sunday night (Seoul time). The Koreans were on a group
tour, taking photos at sunset in Yemen's ancient city of Shibam.
"I am very sorry for having not protected the tourists, and that they return here
as cold bodies," Ma Kyoung-chan, president of the Seoul-based tour agency that
organized their travel, said after arriving at the Incheon International Airport
with the families.
Another suicide bomber on Wednesday attacked a convoy of vehicles carrying South
Korean government officials visiting Yemen to help investigate the Sunday's
blast. The bereaved families were also in the convoy, but no one was harmed.
The Yemeni government said those terrorist attacks were directed at South
Koreans, but officials here were more cautious.
"It is still hard to say whether the attacks targeted South Koreans or were aimed
at unspecified foreigners," a senior foreign ministry official said.
The ministry, meanwhile, is considering banning the country's citizens from
traveling to the Arab nation, known as a hotbed of militant activity amid the
local authorities' crackdown on al-Qaida operatives.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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