18 May 2004 – Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Domingo Albert today condemned the killing of Iraq Governing Council President Abdel-Zahraa Othman, also known as Izzadine Saleem, who was among ten killed in a Baghdad car blast yesterday.

“The Philippines condemns this cowardly attack and shares the grief of the family and friends of those who perished,” Secretary Albert said.  “We join others in issuing an appeal to those opposed to a secure and meaningful future for Iraq to realize the futility of their cause,” the Secretary added.

Saleem, the name he went by most frequently, was a Shia and leader of the Islamic Dawa Movement in the southern city of Basra. He was a writer, philosopher and political activist, and the editor of several newspapers and magazines. Saleem’s car caught the full force of the explosion close to a checkpoint at the huge US-led coalition headquarters called Green Zone.

Secretary Albert also noted reports that an improvised explosive device (IED) that was intended to be used against US forces, contained a small quantity of the nerve agent sarin.

“Although UN and US experts have said that the sarin that was found in the IED were pre-Gulf war and were thus old stock, I would like to reassure the families of Filipinos in Iraq that Team Iraq’s contingency plans include addressing threats from non-conventional weapons like nerve agents,” Secretary Albert said. “General Cimatu and his team had already formulated plans for this contingency in 2003 for the entire Middle East in anticipation of the war in Iraq.  Based on that experience, Team Iraq has also formulated contingency plans of this nature for our Filipinos in Iraq,” the Secretary added. “Team Iraq and our Embassy in Baghdad will closely monitor this develop, always with a view to ensuring the safety and welfare of our Filipinos in Iraq,” the Secretary said. END.