DFA raises alert level 3 in Yemen

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday raised alert level 3 in Yemen where seven Filipinos where killed in a suicide bombing incident last week.

Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Raul Hernandez said that under alert level 3, Filipinos in Yemen are urged to return to Philippines.

He assured that the government is ready to shoulder the repatriation cost.

Hernandez said Filipinos are also now advised to defer travel to Yemen.

According to the DFA, the seven Filipino fatalities were among the 52 killed in a suicide bombing attack in the defense ministry complex in Sanaa last Thursday.

The Filipinos killed were medical workers including a doctor at the Yemeni Defense Ministry Hospital.

Hernandez said all Filipinos working for the bombed hospital were accounted for.

The DFA said 11 other Filipinos also sustained minor injuries but were "shaken and traumatized."

DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario has sent Undersecretary Jesus Yabes to Yemen to assist the victims.