MANILA, Philippines — A massive crowd of mostly barefoot Filipino Roman Catholic devotees has joined an annual procession of a centuries-old statue of Jesus Christ which is being held under tight security due to fears of a possible attack following the killing of a suspected Islamic extremist leader.
The U.S. and British embassies have asked their citizens to take precautions. The Philippine police have warned that local Muslim militants trying to align themselves with the Islamic State group may try to attack Monday's procession of the wooden Black Nazarene along downtown Manila's streets.
National police chief Ronald Dela Rosa says authorities have not monitored any specific threat but warned that followers of Muslim militant leader Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, who was killed by police last week, may retaliate by attacking the procession.