The Japanese government concluded Thursday that the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) contingent in Iraq came under attack for the first time on Wednesday night, when Japanese troops heard sounds of explosions and found signs of shells having landed near their base.  

Three blasts were heard at 11:13 pm local time Wednesday at the base outside the southern Iraqi city of Samawah, and marks indicating that mortar shells or rocket-propelled grenades had hit the ground were found in two places about 300 meters north of the camp.

In Tokyo on Thursday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said the attack was "a terrorist attempt aimed at kicking Japanese troops out of Iraq. Terrorists will do anything to throw the situation into confusion."

According to Kyodo News, none of the estimated 550 GSDF troops at the camp were injured, but the top GSDF commander admitted the security situation has deteriorated "somewhat" in Samawah, which Tokyo had judged to be relatively safe in deciding to dispatch the troops in January.

"At the moment, the situation has somewhat destabilized," GSDF Chief of Staff Gen. Hajime Massaki said at a press conference when asked to compare the circumstances with January.

The Japanese government may have to review the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) involvement in Iraq if the security situation in Samawah continues to deteriorate.

Uprisings against the US-led occupation have spread in central and southern Iraq, including places close to Samawah, in the past week. Clashes have left scores of coalition troops and Iraqis dead.

Meanwhile, Japanese opposition party leaders renewed their criticism of the government's dispatch of troops Thursday, and questioned the designation of Samawah as a "noncombat zone."

The GSDF troops are in Samawah under a special law allowing the government to dispatch SDF personnel to places in Iraq it designates as noncombat zones for humanitarian and reconstruction purposes.

Whether the troops will withdraw or formally suspend their operations in Samawah will depend on a decision to be made by the Defense Agency in Tokyo, Massaki said.

Following the incident, GSDF and Dutch troops stepped up security measures, including patrols in the area around the Japanese camp, and have blocked off traffic.

On Thursday morning, the Japanese troops began inspecting the site where shells may have landed and found a mark that indicates a shell or rocket with a diameter of 60 millimeters to 80 mm was used, Massaki said.

The size indicates that if military artillery was used, it had a range of 3 kilometers, he said.

The troops also found signs of yellow phosphorus indicating a smoke grenade was fired, according to Massaki.

The Defense Agency later determined that a smoke bomb was used.

Given information that a suspicious vehicle was seen before the blasts and no launcher has so far been detected, the possibility a mobile launcher was used cannot be ignored Massaki added.

The camp is in a desert area just south of Samawah City and is a few kilometers from the Dutch camp.

The incident occurred at a time when the GSDF troops are suspending their activities outside the camp due to rising security concerns ahead of a major Shiite religious event Sunday.

But they have decided to continue purifying water inside the camp for provision to local residents in view of high demand, Massaki said.

The GSDF recently started activities to help repair schools and other local infrastructure and to provide assistance in medical services, tasks which would require them to go outside the camp.

(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2004)