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S. Korea asks for thorough probe on Yemen bomb blast

TOKYO, March 16 (KUNA) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Monday called for Yemeni authorities to thoroughly investigate a bomb explosion that killed four South Korean tourists, the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported.
During telephone talks with his Yemeni counterpart Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, Yu asked for thorough investigation into the incident, Yonhap said, citing a ministry official.
A bomb went off at around 11:50 p.m. on Sunday (Seoul time) in the city of Syoun (Sayun), about 500 km east of the Yemeni capital, Sanna, in what appeared to be a terrorist attack, killing the four and wounding three other South Koreans. The tourists from Seoul were taking pictures at sunset, according to the foreign ministry. It added that the South Korean victims included two men and two women, all of whom were on a group tour. Their Yemeni guide was also killed.
The Yemeni minister replied that a technical team of experts was immediately dispatched to the scene to determine the cause of the blast, the report said. Yu also accepted Yemen's offer that South Korea participate in the probe, the news agency said, adding that a team of four South Korean officials, including a police officer, left for Yemen earlier in the day. The team is expected to arrive in Yemen on Tuesday morning via Dubai.
Two of the injured and 10 other South Koreans who were in the same tour group are scheduled to arrive in South Korea Tuesday afternoon, according to the report. Yemeni security officials told foreign news agencies that Sunday's bombing was probably a terrorist attack, but added it could also have been caused by unrecovered dynamite. (end) mk.tg KUNA 161722 Mar 09NNNN