MANILA, Philippines — The government of Iraq assured that it will provide all the assistance in order to protect Philippine nationals and to bring them out of harm’s way if needed in light of the recent bombings in Baghdad.

The assurance was made by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari during a wide-ranging bilateral talks with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.

There remains 279 Filipinos registered with the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad and 192 in the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, a part of Iraq that has remained relatively peaceful.