Islamic State claims Manila attack, 37 dead

THE PHILIPPINES IS ON A HEIGHTENED ALERT AMID A CRISIS IN MARAWI, WHERE TROOPS HAVE BEEN BATTLING ISLAMIST REBELS SINCE MAY 23.

MANILA: A gunman stormed a Manila casino on Friday and used petrol to set gambling tables on fire, creating clouds of smoke that killed at least 37 people, police said. The assailant fled with more than $2 million in stolen casino chips, then forced his way into a room in an adjoining hotel and killed himself.

The Islamic State group said the gunman was one of its operatives who “carried out killing and hurting until he died a martyr”.

However, Philippine authorities said they suspected the man, who has not yet been identified, was trying to rob the casino and that there was no evidence it was a terrorist attack.

“Either he lost in the casino and wanted to recoup his losses or he went totally nuts,” said Metropolitan Manila police chief Oscar Albayalde.

Police noted the man didn’t shoot anyone he encountered. The only gunshot wound was a guard at the complex who accidentally shot himself.

“He would have shot all the people gambling” if his goal was terrorism, national police chief Ronald dela Rosa said. None of the bodies had gunshots, authorities said.

Dela Rosa said security video showed the gunman ignoring a guard who tried to question him at the complex’s entrance, then going straight to the casino. He stuffed a backpack with gambling chips, fired his assault rifle at TV screens and set gambling tables on fire by pouring petrol onto them from a two-litre bottle he carried, dela Rosa said. It was not clear how he smuggled the gasoline and rifle into the crowded casino.

The gunman, whom dela Rosa described as “white, with a mustache,” about six feet tall and English speaking, fled the gambling area and barged into a room on the fifth floor of Maxims Hotel, which is part of the Resorts complex. He lay down on the bed, covered himself with a blanket, doused himself with gasoline and then set himself on fire, dela Rosa said. He carried no identity documents, police said.

The bag of high-value gambling chips — with an estimated worth of more than $2 million — was found in a toilet.

The attack sent hundreds of people fleeing through the complex and into the night. A South Korean died of a possible heart attack suffered during the evacuation, the foreign ministry said. More than 70 people suffered mostly minor injuries in the stampede to escape.