No Filipinos hurt in Afghanistan terror attack–DFA

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano (AP photo)

No Filipinos were hurt in the suicide bomb attack that left dozens of people dead in the capital of Afghanistan, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Friday.

The Philippine Embassy in Islamabad reported that none among the more than 1,500 Filipinos working in Kabul were among the casualties in the bomb blast, according to the DFA.

Chargé d’Affaires Anwar Ito reported that the attack targeted a Shi’a cultural center and a news agency in the western part of Kabul, the DFA said.

The attack came three days after a suicide bomber penetrated Afghanistan’s national intelligence agency also in the Afghan capital, killing 10 people in the incident.

In a statement, DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said the Philippine government condoles with the people of Afghanistan in mourning the loss of lives in the terrorist attack.

More than 40 persons were reported dead while 80 others were reported injured, Cayetano said.

READ: More than 40 dead in ISIS-claimed attack targeting Shiites in Kabul

“We condemn this senseless act of violence that deliberately targeted innocent civilians, many of them young students and even some women and children,” Cayetano said.

The DFA also called on Filipinos in Afghanistan to remain vigilant and to take the necessary precautions to ensure their safety and security. /jpv