THE UNITED States, the United Kingdom and Australia on Saturday urged their citizens to take safety measures and avoid crowded areas following the explosion late Friday in a Davao City night market that killed at least 14 and wounded dozens.

In an “Emergency Message for US Citizens,” the US Embassy in Manila reiterated a previous warning of an “ongoing threat of terrorist actions and violence against United States citizens and interests abroad, including the Philippines,” and said it had suspended official travel of embassy personnel to Mindanao.

“The Embassy reminds US citizens of the importance of taking preventative measures to ensure their safety and security while traveling and residing in the Philippines,” it said.

The US Embassy also alerted Americans to the “knock and plead” operations of the Philippine National Police (PNP) “at those homes suspected of involvement in illegal drug operations,” including those in residential villages.

“Local PNP leadership has informed the embassy that the village sweeps are intended for the sole purpose of distributing information pamphlets so that residents know who to contact to report crimes or suspicious behavior,” it added.

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advised against all but essential travel to Mindanao, and “all travel to south-west Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago because of ongoing terrorist activity and clashes between the military and insurgent groups.”

“There is a high threat from terrorism, including kidnapping. There has been an increase in kidnapping of foreign nationals since late 2015. It’s likely that terrorist groups continue to plan kidnap operations against Western nationals in the region. You should remain vigilant at all times,” the UK warning said.

“You should avoid large crowds and demonstrations and follow the advice of the local authorities,” it added.

Level two

 Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) reminded its citizens of its existing travel alert warning level two on the Philippines.

Level two means there are bigger risks in the location than what would typically be found in a larger Australian city. It may also reflect a weak law and order system or deficiencies in public services.

“We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in the Philippines due to the high threat of a terrorist attack and the high level of crime. You should pay close attention to your personal security at all times,” the department said on its website.

Terror organization Abu Sayyaf has claimed responsibility for the blast, adding that similar attacks should be expected in the coming days in response to the all-out offensive of the military against the group.

“Australians in Davao should exercise heightened vigilance, avoid the affected area and follow the advice of local authorities,” the DFAT said.

The department also advised Australians to “reconsider” the need to travel to eastern Mindanao “due to the very high levels of violent crime and the high threat of terrorist attack and kidnapping.”

It also warned its citizens “not to travel” to central and western Mindanao, including the Zamboanga Peninsula, the Sulu archipelago and the southern Sulu Sea area “due to the very high threat of kidnapping, terrorist attack, violent crime and violent clashes between armed groups.”

Sympathies

 Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Amanda Gorely expressed her sympathy to Davaoeños.

“My thoughts are with the people of #Davao. We stand by you. #StayStrongDavao,” she said on Twitter.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop extended her condolences, saying “Australia remains steadfast in our support for the Philippines in response to terrorism, and stands ready to offer any assistance to law enforcement authorities.”

In a statement released by the White House on Friday (Saturday in Manila), the United States expressed its condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the Davao City explosion.

National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said the US “stands ready to provide assistance” to the ongoing investigation.

He added that US President Barack Obama would convey his personal condolences to President Rodrigo Duterte next week, when they meet during an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Vientiane, Laos.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg also offered his condolences through Twitter.

“My deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the explosion in Davao City,” he said. </s> DAVAO BOMBING. An explosion hit a night market in Davao City on September 2, 2016, killing at least 14 people and injuring more than 60 others. Photo by Manman Dejeto/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines – A number of foreign countries have alerted their citizens not to travel to parts of the Philippines in the wake of the blast in Davao City where at least 14 people were killed and more than 60 others injured.

The United States Embassy has "temporarily suspended all official travel to Mindanao" despite no direct threat against US citizens in the country.

"The Embassy encourages all US citizens to remain vigilant and employ sound personal security measures as you go about your day. The Embassy will continue to monitor the current state of affairs in the Philippines and will release additional messages as needed," it said in its travel advisory.

Canada has also warned its citizens against traveling to Mindanao and Sulu.

"There is no nationwide advisory in effect for the Philippines. However, you should exercise a high degree of caution due to an ongoing terrorist threat to Westerners and Western interests," said the Canadian government.

The British Embassy, on the other hand, advised against "all but essential" travel to Eastern Mindanao where Davao City is. British citizens are also advised to refrain from traveling to the rest of the island.

"There is a high threat from terrorism, including kidnapping. There has been an increase in kidnapping of foreign nationals since late 2015. It's likely that terrorist groups continue to plan kidnap operations against western nationals in the region. You should remain vigilant at all times," said the British Embassy.

Australian citizens traveling to the Philippines are advised to exercise a "high degree of caution" while those going to Eastern Mindanao may "reconsider [their] need to travel." Those heading to Central and Western Mindanao, including the Zamboanga Peninsula and the Sulu area, are advised not to go instead.

Meanwhile, Singaporeans in the Philippines are cautioned to "exercise vigilance, and monitor the local news and instructions of the local authorities." (For updates on the Davao blast, check Rappler's live blog) – Rappler.com </s> (CNN) Three Southeast Asian nations have started trilateral naval patrols in the first concrete sign of cooperation against ISIS-inspired terror groups operating in the region.

The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia will begin joint patrols and information-sharing to curb the influence of local Islamist terror groups, according to a joint statement released by the three governments.

Southeast Asian terror cells aligned with the Iraq- and Syria-based group have been emboldened in recent years, culminating in a month-long battle for the city of Marawi on Mindanao island in the southern Philippines

The Trilateral Maritime Patrol Indomalphi -- whose name incorporates elements of each of the three countries' names -- was "initiated and implemented" by the governments of the "three in order to face the security challenges associated with each country's border waters," according to the statement.

The start of the initiative was marked with a ceremony aboard an Indonesian naval vessel in the Javanese province of North Kalimantan Monday, attended by the defense ministers of the three countries, alongside each nation's armed forces commander.

"The Trilateral Maritime Patrol Indomalphi is a concrete step taken by the three countries ... in maintaining stability in the region in the face of non-traditional real threats such as piracy, kidnapping, terrorism and other transnational crimes in regional waters," the statement said.

To implement the increased intelligence sharing and joint patrols, there will be a Maritime Command Center (MCC) in each nation -- Tarakan in Indonesia, Tawau in Malaysia and Bongao in the Philippines. The maritime patrols will also include air and land elements.

Chief among the issues that the Southeast Asian nations face is the rising threat of local terror groups from the three countries, who use the channels and inlets of the nations' coastlines on the Sulu Sea to move weapons, cash and personnel between the Indonesian island of Java, Malaysia's Sabah province and the Philippines' Mindanao, a large southern island with a large Muslim population and a long history of religiously-motivated separatism.

Kidnappings, especially by Mindanao-based militants of Indonesian nationals, has also been a key issue in moving the initiative forward.

In addition to dozens of Indonesians, mainly fishermen and seamen, kidnapped in the past few years, the Sulu-based faction of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) recently kidnapped two Canadians, a Norwegian and a Philippines national from a marina in the southern Philippines.

"This is a warning so we can be ready to address this together because there are sleeper cells that are in each of our countries," Indonesian military chief Gen. Gatot Murmatyo said at the ceremony.

"With this trilateral cooperation it will ease the exchange of information because the speed and accuracy of information is very much needed to put in place measures and anticipate the possible escape of (militants) out of Marawi."

Despite the three nations' increasing issues with ISIS-inspired terrorism and their long unguarded coastlines bordering the Sulu Sea, long used for smuggling routes, active cooperation between the countries' governments has been lacking, Sidney Jones, director of the Institute for Policy and Analysis of Conflict told CNN last week.

"Part of the problem is that borders in this archipelago are extremely porous. It's still possible to get in by boat. All three countries -- Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines -- are trying to strengthen their border controls and their immigration checks," the Jakarta-based regional terrorism expert said.

"One thing that's needed is a common watch list so that all three countries are operating from the same information about who may be dangerous. But regional cooperation is improving on that." </s> At least two people have been killed and four others wounded in a grenade attack on a mosque in the southern Philippines, say local officials.

The attack in Zamboanga city took place in the early hours of Wednesday, just days after deadly twin blasts at a Roman Catholic cathedral in the island of Jolo and a vote backing wider Muslim self-rule in Mindanao, the country's volatile southernmost region.

"A grenade was lobbed inside a mosque killing two persons and wounding another four," regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana told AFP news agency of the attack in Zamboanga.

In a statement, President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman, Salvador Panelo, said the attackers are "taunting" the government in its handling of the peace and order situation in Mindanao.

"Terrorism has once again reared its barbaric and ugly head," Panelo said.

A grenade attack on a mosque in the Philippines left two dead and four wounded, days after twin blasts killed 21 people at Jolo cathedral. pic.twitter.com/EGRh6ZT0RZ — Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 30, 2019

The victims were reportedly sleeping inside the mosque at the time of the attack, which drew immediate condemnation from local officials

"There is no redeeming such blasphemous murder. It is the highest form of cowardice and obscenity to attack people who at prayer," said regional leader Mujiv Hataman.

"We call on people of all faiths... to come together to pray for peace."

The Ulama Council of Zamboanga Peninsula condemned what it called a "devilish, irrational and inhumane act" and urged people to be vigilant.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The military called for unity among Mindanao communities and urged the public to refrain from speculation on social media that could spread misinformation.

Regional task force commander Colonel Leonel Nicolas stressed the incident was "not a retaliatory act" for the church bombing three days before.

The country was put on high alert after two explosions during a Sunday church service at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo town, Sulu province, killed at least 21 people and wounded more than 100 others.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group claimed responsibility for the cathedral blast, one of the worst incidents of violence in Philippines' restive south.

President Rodrigo Duterte blamed Abu Sayyaf, a domestic armed group that has pledged allegiance to ISIL and has carried out bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Mindanao, for carrying out the church bombing.

"Nobody, but nobody, could perpetuate that kind of terrorism in that area," he said this week during a visit to the region.

The incidents follow a successful and peaceful January 21 referendum that overwhelmingly approved autonomy for the estimated five million inhabitants of predominantly Muslim parts of Mindanao.

That followed a decades-long separatist struggle that has killed at least 120,000 people.

Muslims are a minority in the predominantly Catholic Philippines and represent about a quarter of the population of the Mindanao region.

Sectarian violence does not happen often there and the autonomy plan, which aims to address chronic poverty, underdevelopment and violence, is largely supported by Filipinos nationwide. </s> Manila, Aug 29 (IANS) Police in the Philippines island of Mindanao were on high alert on Wednesday after a bomb blast in a market in Isulan area killed two people and injured 36 others.

Isulan, capital of Sultan Kudarat province, was celebrating the “Hamungaya Festival” when a bomb exploded on Tuesday night at a market, Efe news reported.

“Effective this morning police units in Mindanao are on full alert status. This is the response until the completion of the martial law,” the state-owned Philippine News Agency quoted General Oscar Albayalde as saying.

Albayalde said the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, which is affiliated with the Islamic State, has claimed to be behind the attack while further investigations are on.

Isulan Police Chief Celestino Daniel said that the attack had targeted government forces as the bomb exploded when an army convoy was passing through the area.

Three explosive devices were found in the area. </s> TARAKAN, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asian neighbors Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines launched coordinated maritime patrols on Monday to intensify their fight against Islamic militants who have laid siege to a southern Philippine city.

Defense ministers and military chiefs from the three countries launched the patrols in the Indonesian city of Tarakan in northern Borneo, just across the border from Sabah, Malaysia.

Indonesia’s military chief, Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, said Maritime Command Centers were also opened in the cities of Tawau in Malaysia and Bongao in the Philippines. The information and intelligence sharing centers establish designated sea lanes for ships in the seas along the countries’ borders to prevent Islamic State group-aligned militants in the southern Philippines from fleeing to neighboring nations.

The conflict in the Philippine city of Marawi has raised fears that the Islamic State group’s violent ideology is gaining a foothold in the country’s restive south, where Muslim separatists have fought for greater autonomy for decades.

Nurmantyo said the idea of the trilateral maritime patrols was initiated by the countries last year to maintain stability in the region in the face of threats such as piracy, kidnapping, terrorism and other crimes in regional waters.

“This trilateral cooperation is needed to anticipate infiltration possibility of IS-aligned militants from Marawi disguised as refugees,” Nurmantyo said in a speech.

Philippine military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said the coordinated patrols aim to tighten protection along porous borders and prevent abductions at high seas. They will also help prevent the movement of fugitives seeking haven in a different country or planning to provide assistance to jihadists, he said.

He said immigration procedures should also be strengthened since they are the first line of defense in blocking militants who come in through the countries’ airports.

“The enemy we face right now is a different breed, and with the presence of foreign fighters in the area — a matter that we are trying to validate and prove based on whatever we recover from the field — is part of that continuing concern,” he told reporters in the Philippines. He was referring to the reported presence in Marawi of foreign fighters, who he said bring a kind of terrorism seen in the Middle East but not practiced by local militants.

Thousands of troops and police are struggling to end the 28-day siege by Muslim militants aligned with the Islamic State group. Officials said the fighting has left at least 26 civilians, 257 militants and 62 security forces dead.

Monday’s opening ceremony of the joint patrols was held on board an Indonesian warship and was attended by security officials from Singapore and Brunei, who acted as observers.

Authorities in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, have carried out a sustained crackdown on militants since bombings on Bali in 2002 by al-Qaida-affiliated radicals that killed 202 people. In recent years, it has faced a new threat as the rise of the Islamic State group in the Middle East has breathed new life into local militant networks and raised concerns about the risk of Indonesian fighters returning home from fighting with IS.

Marawi is 750 kilometers (465 miles) northeast of Tarakan in Indonesia’s North Kalimantan province.

Associated Press writer Teresa Cerojano in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report. </s> MANILA, Philippines—Three Southeast Asian nations under threat from Islamic State-linked militants launched joint maritime patrols in an effort to stop a conflict in the southern Philippines from spreading to other parts of the region.

The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia plan to police the Sulu and Celebes Seas, a vast area prone to piracy and kidnappings.

Security officials in Southeast Asia have long feared that Islamic... </s> MANILA, Philippines – Two bombs exploded outside a Roman Catholic cathedral on a southern Philippine island where Muslim militants are active, killing at least 19 people and wounding nearly 50 during a Sunday Mass, officials said.

The first bomb went off in or near the Jolo cathedral in the provincial capital, followed by a second blast outside the compound as government forces were responding to the attack, security officials said.

Philippine National Police chief Oscar Albayalde said that at least 19 people died and 48 were wounded. Police and military reports said the casualties included both troops and civilians.

Photos on social media showed debris and bodies lying on a busy street outside the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which has been hit by bombs in the past. Troops in armored carriers sealed off the main road leading to the church while vehicles were transporting the dead and wounded to the hospital. Some casualties were evacuated by air to nearby Zamboanga city.

“I have directed our troops to heighten their alert level, secure all places of worships and public places at once, and initiate pro-active security measures to thwart hostile plans,” said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in a statement.

Jolo island has long been troubled by the presence of Abu Sayyaf militants, who are blacklisted by the United States and the Philippines as a terrorist organization because of years of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

It came nearly a week after minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation endorsed a new autonomous region in the southern Philippines in hopes of ending nearly five decades of a separatist rebellion that has left 150,000 people dead. Although most of the Muslim areas approved the autonomy deal, voters in Sulu province, where Jolo is located, rejected it. The province is home to a rival rebel faction that’s opposed to the deal as well as the Abu Sayyaf group, which is not part of any peace process.

Western governments have welcomed the autonomy pact. They worry that small numbers of Islamic State-linked militants from the Middle East and Southeast Asia could forge an alliance with Filipino insurgents and turn the south into a breeding ground for extremists. </s> MANILA, Philippines -- President Rodrigo Duterte and his top security officials on Monday visited a Catholic cathedral in the southern Philippines where suspected Islamic militants set off bombs that killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 100.

The first blast sent people, some of them wounded, fleeing out the church's main door. Army troops and police were rushing inside when the second bomb exploded a minute later. The explosions scattered wooden pews inside the main hall, blasted out window glass panels and hurled human remains and debris across a town square fronting the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, witnesses said.

The attack occurred in the Sulu provincial capital on Jolo island, where Abu Sayyaf militants have carried out years of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings and have aligned themselves with the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attack.

Duterte walked slowly into the bombed cathedral, where the wooden pews were still in disarray. At one point he looked at the ceiling, where many panels were ripped off by the blasts.

Duterte ordered the armed forces to crush the Abu Sayyaf. The group has an estimated 300 to 400 members, mostly in Sulu where it is holding several foreign and Filipino kidnap victims.

Duterte later met with families of the victims at a military camp in Jolo where coffins were laid side by side.

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who was with the president, blamed the attack on Abu Sayyaf commander Hatib Sawadjaan, who he said has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

"This is an act of terrorism," Lorenzana said. "This is not a religious war."

Sawadjaan is based in the jungles of Patikul town, near Jolo, and has been blamed for ransom kidnappings and beheadings of hostages, including two Canadian men, in recent years.

Police put forces around the country on heightened alert to prevent similar attacks.

The bombings came nearly a week after minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation endorsed a new autonomous region in the southern Philippines in hopes of ending nearly five decades of a separatist rebellion that has left 150,000 people dead. Although most Muslim areas approved the autonomy deal, voters in Sulu province rejected it. The province is home to a rival rebel faction that is opposed to the deal as well as smaller militant cells that are not part of any peace process.

A statement by the Islamic State group posted on social media claimed the attack was carried out by two suicide bombers who wore explosive belts, one detonating at the gate and the other in the parking lot.

Police said at least 20 people died and 111 were wounded. The fatalities were 15 civilians and five troops. Among the wounded, about 90 are civilians.

The United Nations and others denounced the attack. In a statement attributed to a spokesman, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice and reiterated the UN's support for the Philippines' efforts to fight terrorism and to carry forward a peace process in the Muslim region.

Western governments have welcomed the autonomy pact in part to ease concerns that Filipino militants could ally themselves with foreigners and turn the southern region into a breeding ground for extremists.

Aside from Abu Sayyaf, other militant groups in Sulu include a small band of young jihadis aligned with the Islamic State group.

Government forces have pressed on sporadic offensives to crush the militants, and Duterte has extended martial law in the entire southern third of the country to allow troops to finish off radical Muslim groups and other insurgents, but bombings and other attacks have continued.
In light of the attacks, the governments of Australia, Canada, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States issue travel warnings against going to Mindanao, Philippines.