Guards check a vehicle entering the U.S. Embassy compound in Manila

MANILA, September 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Philippine President Gloria Arroyo’s spokesman said Thursday, September 12, that security forces will remain on high alert after reports that Al-Qaeda plans truck bomb attacks on U.S. Embassies in the region.

“Reports like this cannot be brushed aside. We should never let our guard down. We should continue to remain vigilant,” Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Philippine Ambassador to Washington, Albert Del Rosario said Wednesday that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly warned him that al-Qaeda operatives planned to bomb U.S. Embassies across Southeast Asia to mark the anniversary of the September 11 attacks or “at a later date.”

This forced the United States to close its missions in Surabaya, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh and across Pakistan Wednesday.

The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines remained open amid tight security which was praised by U.S. authorities.

Philippine National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said the U.S. warning did not specifically cite the Philippines, but noted that the U.S. Embassy in Manila was “well guarded.”

Philippine security forces, however, would not ban trucks from passing near the U.S. Embassy as a precautionary measure against possible bomb attacks.

“I just spoke with (U.S. Ambassador to Manila Francis) Ricciardone and he said he feels very comfortable with the kind of security government provided,” Golez told reporters.

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes called on the public to “keep cool and not overreact.”

“We have not yet fully determined the circumstances,” of the potential threat, Reyes said.

Earlier Thursday, the office building housing the British Embassy was briefly evacuated after an unidentified caller claimed a bomb had been planted within the premises.

Police bomb squads ordered the evacuation of an office tower in the Makati financial district as they searched for explosives feared to be in the Embassy, on the 15th and 17th floors of the building.

They declared it was all-clear less than two hours later.

Bomb squads were also dispatched to two other nearby office buildings, after receiving similar threats.

Tenants at the two buildings were not made to leave as police discreetly made rounds and later discovered the threats to be a hoax.

“We have been receiving calls of this nature since this morning,” a police officer, who responded to one of the calls, told AFP. “And it is best to check on all of them.”

It was not known who made the threats, but police said they were investigating.

Filipino authorities reinforced security at the British, U.S. and Israeli Embassies as well as airports, seaports and vital installations.

“They (police) came here around past eight. Right now they have just cleared the area and gave us the information that we can go back to work already,” said Alex Dimailig, administrator of the LB Locsin building, housing the British Embassy.

“They did not find anything there,” Dimailig said on ABS-CBN television. “It’s just a crank call.”

Police dispatcher Nita Santiago told AFP that police special weapons and tactics units searched the building but found nothing.

The Philippines has also been on edge amid expectations of an imminent U.S. attack on Iraq.

The Philippines government Wednesday ordered the immediate evacuation of its citizens, including non-essential Embassy staff and their families, from Iraq amid “mounting signs” of a U.S. attack.

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