Gov't verifying report of Filipinos recruited as fighters in Middle East

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government is verifying a report that some Filipino Muslims were being recruited as fighters in conflict-affected countries in the Middle East.

Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Abigail Valte said in a radio interview on Saturday that the Foreign Affairs Department was ordered to verify a report that some 200 Filipinos went to Syria and Iraq to train and fight with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

She also said that the Bureau of Immigration was "very alert when it comes to those who are supposedly either going to Iraq, to Syria, or to other transit points.

"We don't want them to be dragged into the conflict," she said.