Suicide bomber kills IU alumnus

A Taliban suicide bomber killed an IU alumnus Tuesday in Afghanistan. He was the first South Korean soldier to be killed in a terrorist attack since troops were deployed to the country in 2002.\nThe Taliban attack was an attempt to assassinate Vice President Dick Cheney, according to press reports.\nYoon Jang-ho, 27, graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Kelley School of Business in 2004. He majored in accounting, finance and international business. The attack took place at the front gates of the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, 37 miles north of Kabul, according to Associated Press reports. \nMin Sung Kim, IU Korean Student Association president, said that her organization will hold a vigil for Yoon following a Friday night church service held at Korean United Methodist Church, 1924 E. Third St.. The time and place of the vigil is still undecided, Kim said. \nU.S. spokesman Lt. Col. David Accetta said the suicide bomber “never tried to get by any U.S.-manned security checkpoints and instead walked into a group of Afghans outside the base and detonated himself,” according to Associated Press reports. \nYoon was “at the scene to guide two local residents into his unit, located inside the U.S. base, to provide technical education” when the attack took place, according to a press release from the U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense.\nA Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said the suicide attack was aimed at the vice president, according to The Associated Press. Cheney and Afghan President Hamid Karzai met in Afghanistan to discuss security for Taliban attacks, according to Reuters reports.\nYoon was serving a mandatory two-year military service in the Republic of Korea Army and was to be deployed back to Korea next month and have completed his military service in three months.\nThe Korea Times reports that Yoon’s mother, Lee Chang-hee, 60, burst into tears, and his father, Yoon Hee-sok, 67, shouted upon first knowledge of the news. The couple has one other son and daughter, according to The Korea Times.\n–The Associated Press contributed to this report.