AFP to evacuate Pinoys in Iran, Iraq if tensions with US escalate —DND



People attend a funeral procession for Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, in Ahvaz, Iran January 5, 2020. Hossein Mersadi/Fars news agency/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

People attend a funeral procession for Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, in Ahvaz, Iran January 5, 2020. Hossein Mersadi/Fars news agency/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has been tasked to prepare its assets to evacuate Filipinos living in Iran and Iraq if tensions between Iran and the United States escalate, the Department of National Defense (DND) said Sunday.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier summoned Philippine military and national intelligence service officials for an emergency meeting on how to ensure the safety of Filipinos in the Middle East amid tensions caused by the US’ assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said there are 1,600 Filipinos in Iran and 6,000 in Iraq.
“The President has tasked the AFP to prepare its air and naval assets to evacuate and bring home our countrymen if and when open hostilities erupt in the Middle East that may endanger their lives,” Andolong said in a statement.
Soleimani, who commanded Iran's elite Quds Force, was killed by a US drone strike on Baghdad’s international airport last Friday.
The supreme leader of Iran has since vowed “severe revenge” for Soleimani’s killing.
US President Donald Trump in turn has also threatened to hit 52 Iranian sites “very hard” if the Middle Eastern nation attacks Americans or US assets. — Julia Mari Ornedo/BM, GMA News

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