| The British government warned its citizens on Wednesday against traveling to the Philippines, saying it believed a terrorist attack was being planned for the region. "We believe that terrorists are in the final stages of planning an attack," a spokesman for the Foreign Office said, on customary condition of anonymity. Officials in Manila said Monday operatives from the regional terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah were suspected of plotting with the Abu Sayyaf militant group to launch bomb attacks during the Easter holiday. Extra police have been deployed in shopping malls, churches and other crowded places for the Easter weekend. "We advise against all travel to central, southern and eastern Mindanao, and the Sulu archipelago including Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, and Jolo, where military and police operations against terrorist and rebel groups are continuing and where kidnappings and bombings have taken place," the Foreign Office said in a statement. It said Philippine authorities had warned there maybe bomb attacks in Manila and other cities. "There continue to be threats against Western interests and there is a danger of collateral damage from terrorist attacks targeted at others," the statement said. |