By SANG-HUN CHOE, Associated Press Writer
SEOUL, South Korea - Two South Korean aid workers were set free Tuesday, a day after being detained by a Shiite group in southern Iraq, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official said.
The two men were doing relief work in the southern city of Nasiriyah on Monday when shooting erupted between Italian forces and Shiite militiamen, said the official.
"During this gunfight, the Shiite men held the South Koreans because they were foreigners," the official said on condition of anonymity. "But after finding that they were South Koreans, the Shiite men released them the following day."
The two were in Baghdad following their release, the official said. Seoul has received no report of injuries of the men.
Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said Friday that the incident will not affect Seoul's decision to send 3,600 troops to Iraq.
South Korea will send a site survey team to the Kurdish region of northern Iraq on Friday to choose between Sulaimaniyah and Irbil as the site for its troops dispatch, Ban said.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency and Japan's Kyodo news agency had cited French radio reports as saying the two men were kidnapped in southern Iraq by a Shiite militia group called the al-Mahdi Army.
Kyodo said they were taken while the militia battled Italian troops near Nasiriyah.
The al-Mahdi Army demanded the pullout of Italian forces in exchange for their release, French radio reported, according to Kyodo.
The al-Mahdi Army is a private militia loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The militiamen have battled troops from the U.S.-led coalition for three days.
South Korea has been on guard against possible attacks and reprisals for its contributions to the U.S.-led alliance. Seoul plans to send 3,600 troops to Iraq, making it the biggest coalition partner after the United States and Britain.
Tue Apr 6, 7:43 PM ET
WARSAW, Poland - Supporters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ringed the Polish-led military force's headquarters south of Baghdad for several hours Tuesday before withdrawing peacefully, Polish media reported.
Some 150 cars surrounded Camp Bablyon, the headquarters of the 9,500-strong force and remained there. No shots were exchanged, Polish news reports said.
Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski said the incident was a demonstration of power.
"There were 150 cars around the base full of al-Sadr supporters," Szmajdzinski told the TVN television. "Al-Sadr decided to show to the world and the Iraqis that he exists."
The show of force came as U.S. authorities launched a crackdown on al-Sadr and his militia after a series of weekend uprisings in Baghdad and cities and towns to the south that took a heavy toll in both American and Iraqi lives. The fighting marks the first major outbreak of violence between the U.S.-led occupation force and the Shiites since Baghdad fell a year ago.
The Polish news agency PAP said residents of villages near the camp left their homes, but that the demonstrators withdrew after a few hours from around the camp near the city of Hillah, 60 miles south of Baghdad.
Polish military officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Earlier Tuesday, two Polish and three Bulgarian soldiers were wounded in a shootout near the Iraq city of Karbala, a Polish military spokesman said.
Gnatowski said the military was investigating whether the ambush was connected with supporters of al-Sadr.