By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

At least five rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) hit the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad Friday, where the South Korean Embassy is sheltered and where 10 South Korean lawmakers were staying for a fact-finding mission to Iraq, but no injuries were reported.

Almost simultaneously, grenades hit the Oil Ministry in Baghdad and the Sheraton Hotel in front of the Palestine Hotel was also hit. Separate attacks near the Italian Embassy also shook the Iraqi capital.

An aide to Rep. Kang Chang-hee, who is leading the survey team said he was told by Korean diplomats in Baghdad that none of the members were injured in the attacks, which took place shortly after 7 a.m. local time.

``There is no reason to think that the attacks were specifically aimed at the South Koreans,’’ an official at the Foreign Affairs-Trade Ministry said in a briefing.

``We have instructed the fact-finding team and our embassy staff to move to places deemed safer,’’ he added.

The Associated Press news agency reported the grenade attacks caused limited damage to the buildings that house many U.S. workers and foreign journalists.

Witnesses said U.S. soldiers carried a man out on a stretcher who sustained injuries to his head. One of the grenades left a hole in the wall of the 16th floor of the Palestine Hotel and a 15th-floor room appeared to have been hit as well. Another grenade was believed to have hit the eighth floor.

For security reasons it is not known which floor the South Korean Embassy was on.

The Korean Assembly team flew to Iraq on Tuesday for a nine-day mission before the nation makes its decision on a detailed plan for sending additional troops to Iraq. Some 400 medics and engineers are already in the Middle Eastern country for reconstruction efforts.

The bombing is the latest attack that took place in the region following Thursday’s truck bombings in Istanbul, Turkey that killed at least 27 and wounded more than 400.

No Korean casualties were reported in the city, where some 400 South Koreans live.

A spokesman at Seoul’s Foreign Ministry on Friday issued a statement on the attacks, expressing ``deep condolences’’ to the terrorist victims, adding South Korea ``strongly condemns’’ the attacks.

``The ROK (Republic of Korea) government has given its support to the international efforts to eradicate terrorism and will continue to take active part in such endeavors,’’ he said.

Relaying the mood of fear throughout Turkey, a South Korean diplomat said the embassy in Ankara, Turkey is nevertheless bracing for the worst.

``We have told local Korean groups to refrain from going outside and particularly to stay away from places where attacks are more likely to take place,’’ Lee Hee-chul, councilor at the South Korean Embassy said in a telephone interview from Ankara.

Cars, particularly small trucks like the ones used in Thursday’s bombings, are subjected to numerous searches. Children’s school buses taking students to international schools now take different routes to avoid possible attacks.

But Lee, an expert on Turkey, offered his personal opinion that South Korea, which decided to dispatch additional troops to Iraq at the U.S.’ request, is less likely to become a future target for such terrorist attacks.

``Experts here believe Turkey’s troop dispatch plan to join U.S. operations in Iraq (shelved earlier this month) had little to do with the attacks,’’ Lee said.

The secular tradition of Turkey and Ankara’s active cooperation in U.S.’ occupation of Iraq, which set it apart from other countries in the region, likely made Turkey a target on ``symbolic’’ grounds, he added.

``It is noteworthy that Prime Minister (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan strongly called for enhanced international cooperation to prevent terrorism,’’ Lee said.

Some 600 South Koreans live in Turkey. Bilateral relations between Turkey and South Korea have further blossomed after the 2002 World Cup where Turkish athletes were received warmly during their semi-final match against South Korea.

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr