Filipinos in Iraq asked to return home

Iraqi police deploy in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, June 13, 2014. Iraqi officials say al-Qaida-inspired militants who this week seized much of the country’s Sunni heartland have pushed into an ethnically mixed province northeast of Baghdad, capturing two towns there. The writing on the metal shutters at left advertises a shop for sale. (AP Photo/ Emad Matti)

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs  on Saturday urged Filipinos in Iraq to return home, citing the “deteriorating security situation” amid a fast-moving Islamic insurgency.

“Filipinos in Iraq are enjoined to volunteer to return to the Philippines at government expense,” the DFA said as it raised the alert level in  most parts of the country to 3.

However, it said that the Iraqi Kurdistan region which is still level 1 remains to be “calm and stable.”

The DFA said it is sending a rapid response team to assist in the voluntary repatriation of Filipino workers there.

It added that it is closely monitoring the political and security development in Iraq.

Jihadists belonging to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria have recently took over parts of Iraq to push for the establishment of an Islamic state.

RELATED STORIES

DFA issues alert level 2 for Thailand over martial law declaration

OFWs warned as DFA raises alert level