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No Pinoy casualties in Kabul twin blasts - DFA

Published Aug 27, 2021 10:41 am

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday, Aug. 27 said there were no Filipino casualties in the twin suicide bombings at Kabul airport that killed dozens of people, including at least 13 United States (US) service members.

DFA Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy Eduardo Meñez said initial reports reaching their office “indicates there were no Filipino casualties” in the bloody incident that occurred at the height of the ongoing chaotic evacuation of both foreign and Afghan nationals out of Kabul.

This Aug. 23, 2021, satellite image courtesy of MAXAR shows the area around the Abbey Gate at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. Two explosions struck near the Abbey Gate on Aug. 26, 2021, causing multiple casualties in what the US military labelled as a "complex attack" that took place as countries raced to complete evacuations from Afghanistan. (Handout / Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies / AFP)

“Preliminary information from Philippine Ambassador Daniel Espiritu, who is based in Islamabad, Pakistan, indicates that there were no Filipino casualties at the suicide bombings at Kabul airport yesterday,” Meñez told reporters.

The Philippine Embassy in Islamabad has jurisdiction over Afghanistan.

As of the latest DFA estimates, there are around 24 Filipinos remaining in Afghanistan, of which 16 are requesting repatriation from either their company or the Philippine government.

According to the foreign affairs office, a total of 185 Filipinos have already left Kabul since the Taliban took over the capital on Aug. 15.

On Thursday, it was reported that explosions from two suicide bombers rocked the main avenue leading to the airport hours after western governments warned of an imminent attack from Islamic militants based in Afghanistan.

Related Tags

Evacuation kabul OFWs suicide bomber AFGHANISTAN
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