DFA: No Filipino casualty in Egypt terror attack

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano AP photo

No Filipinos were hurt in a terrorist attack at a mosque in Egypt that killed more than 200 people, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

In a statement released Friday, the DFA said the Philippine Embassy in Cairo is monitoring the developments on the attack, which took place in Northern Sinai.

The DFA said initial reports indicate that there was no Filipino casualty in the latest violence that erupted in Egypt.

READ: Militants attack Egyptian mosque, kill at least 235 people

The Embassy also cautioned the 5,183 registered Filipinos from going to the Northern Sinai region because of the high risk of terrorist attacks.

Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano condemned the “cowardly act,” saying that attacks on any place of worship “are totally unacceptable.”

“The Philippines strongly condemns this cowardly act perpetrated against our Muslim brothers and sisters in Egypt,” Cayetano said.

“We join the people and government of Egypt and the rest of the world in mourning the loss of many innocent lives in the tragedy,” he added.

Cayetano echoed President Rodrigo Duterte’s stance to promote interfaith harmony as one course of action that the international community can take to counter violent extremism.

He said the incident in North Sinai “must reinforce the resolve not only of the various governments but also the major faiths around the world to work together and fight these forces of terror.”

According to Ambassador Leslie Baja, the attack took place at the Al-Rawdah mosque in Bir Al-Abed Province, about 300 kilometers northeast of Cairo.

Baja said the attack involved at least one suicide bomber and several gunmen who targeted Sufi Muslim worshipers attending Friday afternoon prayers. /jpv