Security alert in Philippines over terror threat

The Philippines stepped up security at key installations and all public areas in parts of the country's volatile south on Sunday following a terror threat, police said. The national police said they had received reliable information on a ‘possible terrorist threat’ on the southern island of Mindanao, particularly in Davao, the country's third largest city with a population of more than two million. All police forces were alerted ‘to beef up security operations against possible infiltration of suspected members of said reported threat groups’, the national police said in a statement. It did not mention the nature of the possible attack, nor identify any group, although parts of Mindanao are plagued by Al-Qaeda-linked Muslim militants as well as communist guerrillas waging a decade long insurgency. The police said security forces would conduct checkpoints and patrols and also carry out inspections at transport terminals, commercial centers and vital installations. The threat alert came as minority Muslims in the mostly Catholic nation began celebrating the holy fasting month of Ramadan, according to Yahoo News.