No Pinoy casualties in Baghdad, Medina terror attacks –DFA

There were no Filipino casualties in Monday's rocket and bombing attacks in Baghdad in Iraq and Medina in Saudi Arabia, respectively, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.
DFA spokesperson Charles Jose told GMA News Online that Philippine diplomatic posts in Jeddah and Baghdad received no reports of Filipinos getting injured or killed in the attacks.
"According to our embassy in Baghdad and our Consulate General in Jeddah, they have not received report of any Filipinos to be among the casualties in the terror attacks in Baghdad and Medina, respectively," Jose said.
Jose added that Philippine posts in both countries have sent out a missive warning Filipinos to avoid public places and register with the embassy.
"Our embassy is in the best position to know the situation on the ground and advise Filcom (Filipino community) on appropriate actions to take," Jose said.
In an interview with Balitanghali, Jose said Philippine officials in Iraq and Saudi Arabia are in close contact with police, military, and government forces to keep the Filipino community updated on the security situation there.
He also downplayed the possibility of similar attacks in the Philippines, saying both the military and the police have yet to detect foreign terrorists operating in the country.
"Ang involved diyan primarily ang ating mga intelligence services, mga agencies, ang law enforcement and military, and of course nakikipagtulungan tayo with other countries in sharing intelligence information," Jose said.
"Ayon sa ating mga security agencies, wala pa rin naman silang namo-monitor na mga foreign terrorist figures na nago-operate sa Philippines," he added. —KBK, GMA News

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