By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter

An Islamic terrorist group has recently warned it would attack ships delivering U.S. military equipment to Iraq, putting South Korean shipping firms on high alert, the National Intelligence Service said on Friday.

``We obtained the information via United States spy agencies,’’ an official at the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said. ``The terrorist organization said in its message that it would blow up any ships if they are found carrying U.S. military materials.’’

The NIS has been examining the reliability of the information, paying close attention to the possibility that the terror warning was issued by an al-Qaida-linked group to thwart South Korea’s additional troop dispatch to Iraq.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries urged the shipping companies to take steps to head off possible offensives from terror-related organizations.

South Korea, which has kept several hundreds of medics and engineers in the war-torn country since last year, plans to send about 3,000 soldiers to the northern Iraqi town of Irbil starting from next month. It has recently begun sending military equipment.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge canceled a planned visit to Israel next week, warning that al-Qaida may attempt an election-time attack against the U.S. and its allies.

``I understand the warning message is not directly targeting South Korea, but it is quite a sensitive time as our troop dispatch is just getting started,’’ a Defense Ministry official said. ``We’ll do our best to reinforce security so our troops can be safely deployed in Iraq.’’

jinryu@koreatimes.co.kr