December 9, 2003	Tuesday	Shawwal 14, 1424

BAGHDAD, Dec 8: Dozens of South Korean electrical workers have left Iraq after two colleagues were killed on a road near Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit in the latest blow to the country’s reconstruction efforts.

A receptionist at the Tulaitulah hotel in Baghdad, where the men had been staying, said on Monday at least 40 workers from Ohmu Electric Co had left for Jordan in two minibuses, one on Sunday and another early on Monday.

The receptionist said the men had been very upset over the daylight shootings on Nov 30, which shocked South Korea and put Seoul under pressure over its support for the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Two other Koreans were wounded when gunmen attacked their car as they drove towards Tikrit, north of Baghdad. The shootings took place near a stretch of road where the day before gunmen had killed two Japanese diplomats.

“Their colleagues were very upset at their deaths, and held ceremonies here for them,” the receptionist said.

In Seoul, a spokeswoman for Ohmu Electric said she expected the employees to return to South Korea this week. It was not clear if all the company’s employees had now left Iraq.

The firm had kept 68 employees in Iraq since Oct 20.

Guerillas have increasingly targeted anyone working with US-led forces, from Iraqi police to foreign contractors.

The South Koreans were working as sub-contractors on a US government project north of Baghdad to fix electrical lines.

Electricity outages hobble large parts of Iraq, especially Baghdad, and are a key grievance cited by ordinary Iraqis in their criticism of the United States.

The hotel receptionist said the dead Koreans had arrived in Baghdad only a day or two before they were shot.

Dan Senor, a spokesman for the occupation authority in Iraq, said he was unaware of any withdrawal by the Korean workers.

“(For) individuals, entities and organizations involved in the reconstruction of Iraq, as they withdraw because of intimidation by foreign terrorists and former regime elements, the terrorists win and the former regime elements win,” he said.

South Korea has said it would go ahead with plans to deploy more troops in Iraq despite the shooting.

President Roh Moo-hyun has committed to sending more troops to join 675 medical and engineering staff, but faces a tough decision on whether to include combat forces.

Many South Koreans disagree with sending more troops, and opposition has grown since the latest spate of attacks. —Reuters