British Embassy in PH urges citizens to be watchful for IS terror

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MANILA, Philippines — British citizens in Manila have been advised by their embassy to be watchful for possible threats from Islamic State (IS) militants. The advisory comes shortly after the British government issued a global alert to their nationals traveling overseas, warning them that they could be possible targets of IS terrorists looking for payback for the air strikes carried out by the United Kingdom against IS activists.

“There is considered to be a heightened threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals, from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria,” the British embassy’s travel advisory, dated October 31, stated.

In September of this year, the British Parliament backed the decision to conduct air strikes versus IS extremists in Iraq, following a request from the Iraqi government. The IS had taken control of vast territories in both Iraq and Syria.

On October 29, prior to their latest update, the British Embassy’s First Secretary Steph Lysaght told reporters that their travel advisory on terrorism and security had not been changed over the last 12 months.

“If we receive credible intelligence that there is an imminent and specific threat against the UK or British citizens, we put them on the travel advice. We haven’t had need to do that in the last [12] months,” the British embassy official said.

Lysaght pointed out that on their “color-coordinated” map – which indicates the areas deemed safe, and those considered dangerous for British travelers – most of the Philippines is still “green;” the color used to signify “no special restrictions that we will advise against travel.”

“The good news is… the vast majority of the Philippines is green. So we encourage people to come to the Philippines. We think it’s a great place…” he said; as he cited that approximately 122,759 British citizens visited the country in 2013, and that they expect this number to rise in the coming years.