Pope Francis has said he escaped a double suicide bombing during a visit to Iraq three years ago after the attempts on his life were foiled by British intelligence and Iraqi police.
Francis made the revelation in his upcoming autobiography, Spera (Hope), excerpts of which were shared with Corriere della Sera on Tuesday, the pontiff’s 88th birthday.
Francis said he had been strongly advised against making the trip to Iraq in March 2021, the first by a pope, because Covid was still raging and the security risks were high, especially in Mosul, the northern city devastated by Islamic State militants.
The pope said he was determined to go ahead with the trip, however. In his recounting of events, British intelligence informed Iraqi police of the planned bombings as soon as Francis arrived in Baghdad. In turn, the Iraqi police informed the Vatican’s security detail.
The pontiff described how one of the suicide bombers was a woman who was heading towards Mosul to blow herself up during the papal visit. A truck was also “heading there fast with the same intention”, he said.
In the book, written with the Italian author Carlo Musso and due to be published in January, Francis said he later asked Vatican security what had become of 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.”
Credit: theguardian.com
