Rocket landed near South Korean base in Afghanistan

A rocket fell just outside a base in Afghanistan, where South Korean aid workers and troops are stationed, early Saturday, but there were no reports of injuries, officials at the Foreign Ministry said. 

The RPG-7 rocket appears to have landed about 200 meters away from the base in Charikar City in the northern Afghan province of Parwan, according to them. 

The attack was the seventh one apparently aimed at the South Korean base in the war-torn country. It followed the similar rocket attack on May 5. 

Seoul officials are not ruling out the possibility of terrorism. 

The two attacks this month came as threats of terrorist attacks have risen since Osama Bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida, was shot to death in a U.S. military raid in Pakistan on May 1. 

More than 300 South Korean troops have been deployed to Charikar City to protect the Korean civilians working there as part of the Provincial Reconstruction Team to help rebuild the war-torn country.

About 90 South Korean aid workers and police officers are operating in the PRT there. In Afghanistan, some 15 countries are participating in the PRT operation under the protection of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, which consists of troops from 46 countries.

The primary task of the PRT is to help bolster the administrative capabilities of the Afghan provincial government and stabilize the region. It also offers medical services, assistance for agricultural development, and vocational and police training.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)