Philippines condoles with victims of attack on mosque in Egypt
The Philippines on Friday expressed its condolences to Egypt as it condemned a terrorist attack at a mosque in the Northern Sinai that killed at least 155 people and wounded 120 others.
“The Philippines strongly condemns this cowardly act perpetrated against our Muslim brothers and sisters in Egypt,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement released by the Department of Foreign Affairs a few hours after the attack.
“Attacks on any place of worship are totally unacceptable,” Cayetano said as he also echoed President Rodrigo Duterte’s desire to promote interfaith harmony as one course of action that the international community can take to counter violent extremism.
The Philippine Embassy in Cairo said initial reports indicate no Filipinos were casualties.
Ambassador Leslie Baja said 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.
The embassy reminded the 5,183 registered Filipinos of its previous advisories cautioning them from going to the Northern Sinai region because of high risk of terrorist attacks. DMS
