As South Korea formally decided to send additional troops to Iraq, officials in Baghdad said Monday that insurgents are reportedly planning to attack South Korean targets in the war-torn Gulf state.

An official at the South Korean Embassy in Iraq said there is intelligence information that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, along with Iraqi insurgents, are planning large-scale attacks on southern areas of this country where South Korean army medics and engineers are operating.

The official said the attacks might occur before or after the holidays.

Several hundred South Korean army medics and engineers are currently operating in the southern part of Iraq, and the government plans to send an additional 3,000 troops to the Middle Eastern country.

Hezbollah is a Lebanese group of Shiite militants that has evolved into a major force in Lebanon's society and politics.

The group is reportedly operating its own clandestine cells in Iraq.

Responding to growing concerns about possible terror attacks, the South Korean Embassy in Iraq beefed up security and instructed South Koreans staying here to refrain from going outdoors.