Rising terrorist attacks after Arab Spring worry Koreans

By Kang Hyun-kyung

The recent bomb attack on a tour bus in the Sinai Peninsula, which killed three Koreans and injured 15 others, highlighted the fast-growing terrorist attacks in the Middle East following the Arab Spring.

The deadly blast came less than a month after a Korean was kidnapped in Tripoli, Libya. Han Seok-woo, the head of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, was taken by Libyan gunmen in January and rescued four days later thanks to efforts by the Libyan security forces.

Together with the kidnapping of the Korean national, the bomb attack in Egypt signaled that any Koreans, whether they are tourists or those who stay in the region for work or study, are exposed to more terrorist attacks than before.

Egyptian Ambassador to Korea Hany Selim expressed deep regret about the Feb. 15 attack on the Korean church group.

“We, the Egyptian government, are very sorry about the loss of lives particularly of our Korean friends,” the envoy told The Korea Times last Monday.

“We are determined to terminate terrorism and fight against terrorism and accomplish our roadmap to achieve democracy and freedom.”

Asked if he believed the Koreans were targeted, Selim declined to answer directly, saying an investigation is underway and when it is done many aspects of the attack will be revealed.

An annual report released by the IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center found that terrorist attacks in general rose in the countries that have experienced severe political upheaval.

According to “2013 Global Terrorism and Insurgency Attack Index,” attacks in Syria nearly doubled. Egypt and Tunisia saw a rapid growth in terrorist attacks in 2013, compared with a year ago.

Attacks in Tunisia increased from 21 in 2012 to 72 in 2013, according to the report. Attacks in Egypt increased from 63 in 2012 to 431 in 2013.

In Libya, there were 81 attacks in 2012, but the figure rose to 237 in 2013, according to the report.

Last year also saw the emergence of the Islamic militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqudis, which claimed responsibility for the bomb attack against Korean tourists in Egypt.

The group claimed responsibility for many terrorist attacks that have occurred in the restive Sinai Peninsula as well as Cairo, including an attempt to kill the Egyptian interior minister last year.

It warned tourists to leave Egypt and threatened to kill anyone if they stay there after Feb. 20.

“Ansar Beit al-Maqdis has successfully sacrificed one of its heroes to detonate the bomb on the bus headed toward the Zionists and this comes as part of our economic war against this regime of traitors,” it said in a statement released after the bomb attack against Koreans last week.

The Islamic group threatened to destroy the economy to topple the new leadership.

The rise of terrorist attacks after the Arab Spring, meanwhile, worries Koreans as several Korean firms and hundreds of Korean workers are there.

In Libya, nearly 500 Koreans are employed in nearly 20 Korean firms.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to beef up travel alerts to better inform Koreans who plan to travel the region.

But this alone appears to be insufficient, given that Koreans based in the region are exposed to terrorist attacks.

Analysts urge the government to come up with measures to better protect Koreans overseas.

Egyptian Ambassador Selim, meanwhile, called on concerned countries to join hands to terminate terrorist attacks in the region.

“If there are any countries concerned about terrorism, they are encouraged to cooperate with Egypt to fight against it,” he said.