British intelligence stops plot to assassinate Pope Francis

A plot to assassinate Pope Francis during a trip to Iraq was stopped following a tip-off from British intelligence, according to his forthcoming autobiography.

The Pope writes that after landing in Baghdad in March 2021, he was told that an event at which he was to appear was being targeted by two suicide bombers.

Both attackers were subsequently intercepted and killed, he said in excerpts published by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

The visit, which took place over three days during the coronavirus pandemic, was the first to Iraq by a pope and featured an intense security operation.

Previous years had seen increase in sectarian violence in Iraq, with clashes between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, as well as persecution of religious minorities.

The country’s Christian community had shrunk dramatically, having been attacked in particular by the Islamic State group and other Sunni extremists.

In excerpts from his autobiography, the Pope states that “almost everyone advised me against” the visit, but he felt that “I had to do it.”

He says the plot was discovered by British intelligence, who warned Iraqi police, who in turn informed his security team once he landed.

“A woman loaded with explosives, a young suicide, was heading towards Mosul to blow herself up during the papal visit,” he says.

“And a van had also left at high speed with the same intention.”

The Pope adds that the next day he asked a security official what had happened to the possible attackers.

“The (official) responded tersely: ‘They no longer exist.’ The Iraqi police had intercepted them and blown them up,” he wrote.

The book, titled Esperanza, will be published on January 14.

The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to the Reuters news agency.