In an excerpt published on December 17 from his upcoming autobiography, Pope Francis said that after landing in the Iraqi capital Baghdad in March 2021, he was informed by the police that there were at least two criminals. suicide bomber targeted one of his planned events.
“A woman carrying explosives… was on her way to Mosul to detonate herself during the pope’s visit. And a truck also drove at top speed for the same purpose,” Pope Francis wrote, according to an excerpt from his autobiography published in an Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
Pope Francis attends a prayer service for war victims in the Old City in the Iraqi city of Mosul on March 7, 2021.
In an excerpt published on December 17, Pope Francis also wrote that the Vatican had been informed by British intelligence about the above assassination.
The pope said he asked a security official the next day what happened to the bombers. “The commander replied briefly: ‘They are no more’. The Iraqi police stopped them and blew them up,” he wrote.
The city of Mosul is an important destination during Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq. Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, was under the control of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) from 2014-2017. The Pope visited the ruins of four destroyed churches there and launched a call for peace.
It was the first trip by a pope to Iraq and perhaps the most dangerous foreign trip in Francis’ 11 years as pope, according to Reuters.
During his visit to Iraq, the Vatican provided very few details about security preparations for Pope Francis. Iraq is said to have deployed thousands of additional security personnel to protect the pope.
The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for more details about Pope Francis’ above revelation, according to Reuters.
Pope Francis’ new autobiography, titled “Hope”, is scheduled to be published on January 14.
