S. Korean base in Afghanistan hit by rocket attack

   A base for South Korea's aid workers and troops in Afghanistan was attacked with rockets earlier this week, an official at Seoul's foreign ministry said Monday.

   Two rounds of rocket-propelled grenades landed on a parade ground inside the base in Charika, a city in the northern Afghan province of Parwan, with two other rounds landing outside of the base, the ministry official said, asking not to be identified.

   "The attack took place shortly before midnight on April 3. The two rounds that landed outside of the base did not go off and there were no casualties resulting from the attack," the official said.

   The latest attack is the fifth of its kind against the South Korean base in Charika since the beginning of the year.

   South Korea currently has some 90 aid workers and police officers in Afghanistan as its provincial reconstruction team, along with some 270 troops to protect the team.

   The team and the troops had been stationed at a U.S. military base in Bagram, Parwan Province, until they moved into the new base in Charika in late January.

 (Yonhap News)