Terrorist Warning Issued In Philippines

The State Department warned on Friday of possible terrorist violence directed at Americans in the Philippines in retaliation for the extradition of a suspect in the World Trade Center bombing.

“The recent extradition of a Muslim extremist suspected of complicity in the New York World Trade Center bombing could possibly trigger retaliatory responses from extremist supporters in metropolitan Manila,” the department said in a statement.

The statement, issued here and by the U.S. Embassy in Manila, urged caution at churches, restaurants and shopping areas known to be frequented by Americans.

There has been growing concern over Islamic fundamentalist violence in the Philippines since a defendant in the February 1993 bombing, Ramzi Yousef, was discovered in January to be living in Manila and allegedly working with local Muslim extremists.

Yousef eluded arrest in Manila but was apprehended a month later in Pakistan and deported to the United States. He is awaiting trial in New York in the bombing, which killed six people and injured more than 1,000.