Pope Francis reveals he was target of suicide bombing plot during 2021 Iraq visit

ADVERTISEMENT

Pope Francis was the target of a suicide bombing plot in Iraq in 2021 that was foiled with the help of British intelligence, the pontiff has revealed in his autobiography.

To mark his 88th birthday on Tuesday, the Italian daily Corriere della Sera ran excerpts from the Pope’s upcoming book, "Hope", which included details about the planned attack.

As Francis arrived in Iraq in March 2021, British spies told Iraqi police that a woman strapped with explosives was on her way to Mosul to carry out an attack against him, the pontiff wrote.

The intelligence officers also said that "a truck was heading there fast with the same intention," according to the book.

Francis' trip to the northern Iraqi city, which had only been liberated from ISIS four years earlier, went ahead with tightened security.

Francis, who became the first pope to ever visit Iraq, said that he later asked his Vatican security detail what had happened to the suicide bombers.

"The commander replied laconically, 'They're no longer here,'" Francis wrote. "Iraqi police had intercepted them and made them explode. This struck me as well: Even this is the poisonous fruit of war."

There were concerns ahead of Francis' visit because of the security situation in Iraq and the Covid-19 pandemic. However, he insisted on going to what he called the "cradle of civilisation".

"I come among you as a pilgrim of peace, to repeat ‘you are all brothers,'" the Pope told Iraqis in a video message ahead of his visit.

In Iraq, the pontiff urged Iraqi Christians, who used to be a sizable minority in the country, to forgive the injustices committed against them by Muslim extremists.

Francis also met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a leading Shia cleric, who promised Iraqi Christians that peaceful coexistence was possible.

The pope's book, which was written with the Italian author Carlo Musso, will be published in January.