By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
South Korean troops leaving for Afghanistan are expected to operate equipment used by the Zaytun Division in Iraq, military sources said Friday.
The division returned home last December after five years of humanitarian and rehabilitation operations in the war-torn Middle Eastern nation. Armored vehicles, trucks and other equipment used by the contingent have been stored at a military post in the southern port city of Busan, the sources said.
``A final formation of the contingent for Afghanistan will be decided after an on-site inspection by a team from the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the coming months,'' an official told The Korea Times, asking not to be named. ``But I guess at least 10 armored personnel carriers will be deployed given the rugged, mountainous battlefield circumstances in Afghanistan.''
Key equipment will include Barracuda 4x4 armored wheeled vehicles and K1A/K2 assault rifles, he said. Also included are K200 amphibious armored personnel carriers, according to the official.
The Barracuda, built by Doosan DST, is a tactical armored vehicle whose steel plate armor provides ballistic protection against 7.62mm caliber projectiles.
It can transport a 12-man crew at a top speed of 100 kilometer per hour and climb steep slopes. The vehicle is equipped with a roof-mounted small-caliber weapon station, CCTV and a dozer system.
Coalition forces in the terrorism-ridden Central Asian nation are struggling to introduce better protective equipment from roadside bombs, land mines and improvised explosive devices, the weapons most commonly used by Taliban fighters.
Britain, Canada, the Netherlands and Germany have recently ordered armored vehicles to replace less-protected military transports in Afghanistan and Iraq.