MANILA, June 3 -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has
dismissed claims made by the international terror group ISIS that it was behind
Friday's attack in Resorts World Manila in Pasay City, where at least 38
people, including the lone gunman, died.
AFP spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, said Saturday claims
made by the terror group do not match the known facts of the incident.
"The pronouncements of this group do not corroborate the facts on
the ground. As it is, the RW (Resorts World) incident has the signature of a
criminal act that needs deeper investigation to ascertain the real motive
behind (it)," he added.
According to news reports, ISIS claimed its fighters carried out the
attack in a statement released by its Amaq News Agency on Friday.
Padilla noted that the incident does not have the slightest signature
of terrorism.
"As in previous incidents, this group is prone to claim and admit
every criminal incident and label it as its own, clearly indicative of its pure
penchant for propaganda," he said.
Early Friday, an unidentified man, armed with an M-4 rifle, barged into
the luxury casino hotel, shooting indiscriminately and causing panic among
hotel guests. He also set fire to gaming tables and stole PHP113 million worth
of casino chips, which were later recovered. Authorities later found the gunman
burned beyond recognition in a fifth floor hotel room.
The police has said at least 37 hotel guests and employees died of
suffocation due to the fire while at least 78 were injured and brought to
various hospitals.
Padilla has earlier called on the public "to remain calm, be
responsible social media users and not to spread alarmist messages that
actually hamper the security of Manila, that may generate overreaction on the
part of the public, that may unduly incite the public to overreact".
(Priam F. Nepomuceno/PNA)
No comments:
Post a Comment