Philippines condemns deadly Afghanistan bomb attack

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government on Friday expressed its condolences to Afghanistan after an ISIS suicide bomber struck a Shiite cultural center in Kabul on Thursday, killing at least 41 people.

“The Philippines joins the government and the people of Afghanistan in mourning the loss of many lives in the terrorist attack in Kabul on Thursday,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement.

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

The attack may have targeted the pro-Iran Afghan Voice news agency housed in the two-story building. The Sunni extremists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria view Shiite Muslims as apostates and have repeatedly attacked Afghanistan’s Shiite minority and targets linked to neighboring Iran.

The attack wounded more than 80 people, many of whom suffered severe burns. The deadly assault underscored the extremist group’s growing reach in Afghanistan even as its self-styled caliphate in Iraq and Syria has been dismantled

The ISIS-linked Aamaq news agency said four bombs were used in the assault, one strapped to the suicide attacker. It said the center was funded by Iran and used to propagate Shiite beliefs.

According to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, none of the estimated 1,500 Filipinos working in Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan were among the casualties in the attack.

“Chargé d’Affaires Anwar Ito said Filipinos in Afghanistan were reminded to remain vigilant and to take the necessary precautions to ensure their safety and security,” the DFA said. — with a report from the Associated Press