Manila resort in lockdown after suspected terrorist opens fire
A MASKED gunman stormed a hotel and entertainment complex in Manila last night, sending hundreds of terrified tourists fleeing into darkened streets.
A Filipino operative for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) terror group took responsibility for the attack. But police cast doubt on any such links.
It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed in the attack, and in the early hours of this morning, further gunshots were heard at the casino complex. Police later said the gunman had killed himself.
Police stressed that they uncovered no ties to terrorism and suggested the motive could have been robbery.
Some windows at the complex shattered as the gunshots were heard, according to reports, about five hours after the man went into the casino and fired what police said was an M4 rifle and then disappeared. There were reports that some hotel guests had jumped out of second floor windows.
The violence unfolded as Muslim militants aligned with Isil fended off government forces for a 10th day in the southern city of Marawi. That unrest had prompted fears that the militants might attack elsewhere to divert the focus of troops trying to quell the siege.
Gen Ronald Dela Rosa, national police chief in the Philippines, said there was no concrete evidence that the attack was terrorism. He said one gunman was behind the attack.
The gunman stole gambling chips, shot an LED monitor and set gambling tables ablaze by pouring gasoline on them, Gen Dela Rosa said. But he said the assailant did not fire at people he met. It was not clear how the gunman smuggled enough gasoline into the crowded casino to cause explosions and what prompted Gen Dela Rosa to rule out terrorism so quickly.
“Our assessment is he burned himself. He committed suicide,” Oscar Albayalde, chief of the Manila police office, said in a radio interview.
Donald Trump, the US president, said last night that the United States was monitoring what he described as a “terrorist” attack in Manila.
“Our thoughts and our prayers are with all of those affected,” he said.
Witnesses uploaded footage of wounded people being led out to ambulances and share pictures of clouds of smoke billowing out of the hotel windows. Police went to the complex in the early hours of the morning. Fire trucks and a SWAT team were also at the hotel, which is across a road from one of the main terminals of the Philippines’ international airport.
The Foreign Office changed its travel advice for Britons in the Philippines following the attack. It advised travellers to avoid the area and follow the advice of local authorities.