British Intelligence Reportedly Foils Assassination Plot Against Pope Francis

A plot to assassinate Pope Francis during his historic trip to Iraq in March 2021 was reportedly thwarted following a tip-off from British intelligence

The Pope recounts that shortly after his arrival in Baghdad, Iraqi authorities informed his security team of an imminent threat involving two suicide bombers targeting an event he was scheduled to attend.

Both attackers were intercepted and killed, according to excerpts published by the Italian newspaper *Corriere della Sera*.

The visit, lasting three days and taking place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, marked the first papal journey to Iraq. It involved a massive security operation amid heightened sectarian tensions and the persecution of religious minorities in the region.

Years of conflict between Shia and Sunni Muslims, as well as attacks by the Islamic State group, had drastically reduced Iraq’s Christian population.

In the autobiography, Pope Francis says he felt compelled to proceed with the trip despite widespread warnings against it. “Almost everyone advised me against it,” he writes, “but I felt I had to do it.”

The assassination plot was uncovered by British intelligence, who alerted Iraqi police. The police, in turn, informed the Pope’s security team after his arrival.

“A woman packed with explosives, a young suicide bomber, was heading towards Mosul to blow herself up during the papal visit,” he recalls. “And a van had also set off at great speed with the same intention.”

When the Pope inquired about the attackers’ fate, he received a blunt response: “They are no more.” Iraqi police had intercepted and neutralized the threat, he explains in the book.

*Hope*, set for release on January 14, offers a detailed account of the Pope’s reflections and experiences.

Reuters