Government monitoring Iraq situation after series of deadly bombings

MANILA – Malacañang said it will ensure that Filipinos in Iraq will get assistance in case they are affected by a series of bombings in the Middle East country recently.

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said in a radio interview on Saturday that the Aquino government has a long-standing policy of ensuring the safety of Filipinos overseas.

“At simula’t sapul, patungkol diyan sa Iraq at sa mga areas of conflict, nagtakda na noong nakaraan pa ng different alert levels ang ating pamahalaan,” Coloma told dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.

“Kung saan ay pinapayuhan kung kailan dapat lumikas, kung kailan dapat mag-evacuate na. At patuloy namang pinaiiral ang mga security protocols na ‘yan.”

“Kaya makakaasa tayo, lalung-lalo na diyan sa nabanggit na lugar, diyan sa Iraq, ay masinsing tinututukan ito at tinitiyak ng ating pamahalaan na mabibigyan ng sapat na ayuda at tulong ang ating mga mamamayan patungkol sa kanilang seguridad at kaligtasan.”

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) says the Sunni terror group is behind a series of attacks in Iraq’s capital Wednesday that targeted Shiites, and left more than 90 people dead, according to a CNN report, where at least 64 people were killed when a car bomb went off in a market in Baghdad, citing information from Iraqi police.

Another 87 people were wounded in that attack in the largely Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City.

Also, a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest detonated in a busy square in the Shiite neighborhood of al-Kadhimiya, killing 17 people and wounding 43 others.

The police also reported that a suicide car bomber exploded in the Sunni neighborhood of al-Jamia in western Baghdad, killing 12 people and wounding 31 others. The attackers targeted a checkpoint manned by Shiites.