Metro Manila, Philippines – The United States Embassy in Manila has issued a security alert for its citizens in the country after reports that two Americans were among the 19 that died in the recent reported clash in Toboso, Negros Occidental. In the security alert released on Friday, May 1, the US embassy flagged parts of Leyte, Mindoro, Negros, and Samar as “areas of heightened concern.” The embassy warned of “recent intensified operations by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against the New People’s Army (NPA),” identifying them as “designated foreign terrorist organization by the US and Philippine governments.” “We advise Americans in the Philippines and around the world to abide by local laws and to avoid situations with elevated security risk,” its alert read. “Anyone in proximity of NPA elements is at grave risk of arrest, injury, or death. Foreign terrorist organizations actively recruit Americans to participate directly…