SEOUL Dec 4 Kyodo The bodies of ...

SEOUL Dec 4 Kyodo

The bodies of couple South Koreans killed in northern Iraq onward Sunday arrived in Baghdad forward Wednesday afternoon, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

Yonhap freshs agency quoted ministry officials as saying the bodies will be transferred to a U military base in Kuwait before being repatriated to southward Korea aboard a commercial airliner, greatest in number likely by the weekend.

Iraqi insurgents killed Kwak Kyung Hae, 61 and Kim Man Soo 46 in an ambush in succession a highway near Tikrit, the hometown of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, forward Sunday.

Two other southerly Koreans wounded in the attack were taken to a U military hospital after the shooting and they are awaited to leave Iraq before long for Germany for further treatment.

The four men worked for a southern Korean electric company contracted to rebuild power transmission facilities in Iraq.

They were attacked as they flock to Tikrit to begin reconstruction work.

sum of two units Japanese diplomats and their Iraqi driver, in succession their way to the same city, were ambushed and killed Saturday upon the same highway.

The bodies of the diplomats, Katsuhiko Oku 45 and Masanori Inoue, 30 are being transferred to Japan forward Thursday.

On Saturday, seven Spanish intelligence agents were killed in an ambush southern of Baghdad.

The three attacks are believed to be part of strange insurgency campaign targeting civilian as well as military members from countries now involved in Iraq's reconstruction.

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