PH condemns deadly Islamist attacks in Nigeria, Pakistan

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano condemned on Thursday the suicide bombings carried out by suspected Islamic extremists in Nigeria and Pakistan that killed more than 40 people and wounded more than 100 others.

“The Philippines joins the international community in condemning the terrorist attacks in Nigeria and Pakistan that took many innocent lives,” Cayetano said in a statement.

“We stand in solidarity with the governments and peoples of Nigeria and Pakistan as they confront the same threat of violent extremism that we are now also faced with in Mindanao,” Cayetano added.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), a female suicide bomber detonated herself at a busy market in the city of Maidoguri in northeast Nigeria on Tuesday. The bombing killed 27 and wounded several others. Two other suicide bombers attacked a nearby refugee camp wounding several more.

A suicide bomber in Pakistan, meanwhile, killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 40 others in an attack against a military convoy in the southwestern city of Quetta on Saturday. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the incident.

In the wake of recent terrorist attacks abroad, Cayetano called on the more than 10 million overseas Filipinos to “heighten their vigilance.”

The DFA also lamented several other attacks, including the foiled terrorist attack in Russia on Aug. 14 and the deadly shooting incident in Burkina Faso, West Africa on Aug. 13.

“We want our kababayans wherever they are abroad to always remain vigilant and to always be prepared because these senseless acts of violence can happen anywhere and when we least expect them,” Cayetano said.

The Secretary noted Ambassador to Moscow Carlos Sorreta’s report that Russian intelligence was able to prevent Islamic militants from carrying out a series of terrorist attacks in the country. The terrorist plot reportedly included two suicide attacks.

Meanwhile, the DFA said 18 people, including eight foreigners, were killed when Islamic militants opened fire at a restaurant frequented by foreigners in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou.

The DFA said it also monitored other small-scale attacks in other parts of the world, mostly in Africa and the Middle East during the past few days.

Citing data from the Global Terrorism Database, the DFA said around 1,102 terror incidents took place worldwide from Jan. to Aug. 2017 alone, while 1,204 terror attacks were perpetrated during the same period in 2016. A total of 1,820 terrorist incidents took place from Jan. to Dec. 2016.

Cayetano also extended his sympathies to the families of the victims of the Aug. 13 attack in Burkina Faso.

“We mourn with the families of those who lost their lives in this terrible incident in Burkina Faso,” he said. CBB