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Resorts World Manila attack: Injuries reported at hotel, casino complex in Philippines

DEVELOPING: Dozens of people are reportedly injured after gunfire erupted at a mall, casino and hotel complex near Manila's international airport in the Philippine capital early Friday morning by several gunmen who claimed to be part of ISIS.

At least 25 people were reportedly injured, the Philippine Red Cross told The Manila Times. Gunfire and explosions were reported at the resort complex in Pasay City sometime after midnight Friday local time. Metropolitan Manila Development Authority reported that there is a "fire alert" at the Resorts World Manila about 12:30 a.m. local time.

"Resorts World Manila is currently on lockdown following reports of gunfire from unidentified men," the resort wrote on Twitter,                           

At least 3 eyewitnesses told local Manila radio the men ran into the resort complex with guns, claiming to be part of ISIS while shooting at people and rounding up foreigners. Local media reported the men are not going after Filipinos, who are being allowed to leave the hotel. 

The group of men reportedly screamed ISIS slogans, and then poured a flammable substance on gaming tables in the high-end gaming area.
The SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S. terrorism monitor, said an Islamic State-linked Filipino operative who provides daily updates on the ongoing clashes in Marawi claimed that "lone wolf soldiers" of the Islamic State group are responsible for the attack at Resorts World Manila.

 An English message by the operative was distributed across several pro-ISIS Telegram chat groups, SITE said. According to SITE, he wrote: "The lone wolf soldiers of Khilafah attack the heart of Kufar the city of Manila in Resort World."

Around 30 to 40 minutes after intially storming the hotel complex, there was a firefight reported between responding police and the gunmen, according to local media.
The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs confirmed there were reports of explosions and gunfire at the resort and urged people to avoid the area. There is no word yet on whether any Americans were in the area at the time of the attack. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said on Twitter that President Trump "was aware of the situation in Manila and being provided updates by his national security team."
While during an address at the White House Rose Garden to announce he withdrawal of the US from the Paris Climate Accord, Trump said the White House is "closing monitoring the situation."
"It is really very sad what is going on throughout the world with terror," Trump said. "Our thoughts and our prayers are with everyone involved."
Videos posted on social media show hotel guests running out of the resorts with sounds of apparent gunfire in the background. Smoke began billowing from the upper floor of the building and some reported seeing masked men guns inside the building.                                     

Ambulances leaving the area are coming out with victims, many who jumped off the third floor of the hotel and casino complex, according to local media.
A witness at the resort told ABS-CBN News that he saw multiple attackers setting casino tables on fire. He added that hotel guests, some foreigners, headed toward the emergency exits while others ran to the building's basement.
Resorts World Manila is touted as a popular tourist destination that includes a shopping center, casino and hotels. It's located near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The Philippines have been grappling with unrest in the Mindanao region, where President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law through mid-July in an attempt to crush the insurrection. Militants linked to the Islamic State group laid siege to Marawi to take control of the city.
Duterte sent in the military, with 3,000 soldiers and 30 warplanes involved in the fight to clear the city of ISIS militants, among them foreign fighters from Yemen and Chechnya.
On May 23, the Philippine military launched a botched raid to capture the self-proclaimed head of ISIS in the Philippines, Isnilon Hapilon. Around 500 ISIS fighters had stockpiled weapons in Marawi.
Around 90 percent of the city has been cleared of ISIS militants in recent days, but there have been setbacks including friendly fire bombing that killed Philippine soldiers in recent days.
In recent years, small militant groups in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia have begun unifying under the banner of the Islamic State group. Jose Calida, the top Philippine prosecutor, said last week that the violence on the large southern island of Mindanao "is no longer a rebellion of Filipino citizens."