A government official said Tuesday that the "Martyr Hammoud Al-Masri Battalion," which claimed to be part of al-Qaida's network in Southeast Asia, warned if Korea didn't pull its troops out from Iraq in 14 days, it would attack Korean troops in Iraq and facilities in Korea. The warning was posted on the Arabic-language site "Montada" on Sunday.

Soldiers and Kurdish militiamen on guard in front of the South Korean Zayitun unit stationed in Irbil, Iraq on Oct. 11./Yonhap

In a post entitled, "Warning to the Korean Government," the group said it would "make Korea suffer" if Korean troops were not pulled out of Iraq in 14 days. It said if the warning weren't heeded, it would attack Korean troops in Iraq "one by one" as well as facilities within Korea. The warning also claimed the group's forces weren't far from targets in Korea and it had a base in Seoul.

An armored police vehicle secures the U.S. Embassy in Jongno, Seoul. Police heightened surveillance of embassies and foreign institutions, on the heels of foreign news reports saying that Al-Qaeda could target South Korea.

A government official explained that the group said it had posted the message on Sept. 30, but in fact, it had been confirmed the message was posted on Oct. 10. Accordingly, the official said it wasn't clear on which standard the government should base the deadline; authorities were still trying to determine the reliability of the threat. He said neither the group in question -- the Martyr Hammoud Al-Masri battalion -- nor the website were well known, and the government was in the process of collecting information on the group, website and the veracity of the terrorism warning.

The government, paying attention to claims that the group had a "base in Seoul," has heightened security at major national facilities and highly populated districts and strengthened security checks on those entering and leaving the country. The Ministry of Defense has informed the Zayitun Unit in Iraq of the threat as well and asked it to strengthen security.

Ahead of this, in a tape played by Arabic-language cable broadcaster Al-Jazeera on Oct. 1, high-ranking al-Qaida operative Ayman Al-Zawahiri called for indiscriminate attacks on Korea and other U.S. allies, saying, "Before the armies of the United States, Great Britain, France, Israel, Korea, Australia or Poland invade Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen or Algeria, we must launch counterattacks now."

(Lee Ha-won, may2@chosun.com )