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Pope Francis Reveals Assassination Attempts Thwarted by British Intelligence and Iraqi Police During First Papal Visit to Iraq

Dec 17, 2024, 04:00 PM

Pope Francis has revealed in his upcoming autobiography, 'Hope', co-written with Italian author Carlo Musso, that he narrowly escaped two assassination attempts during his historic visit to Iraq in March 2021. The attempts were thwarted by the Iraqi police, who acted on information provided by British intelligence. The first attempt involved a woman wearing an explosive vest who was heading to Mosul to carry out a suicide attack during the papal visit. A second attempt involved a van speeding towards the same location with the intention of causing harm. Despite being advised against the trip due to high security risks and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Pope Francis proceeded with the visit, which marked the first time a pope had visited Iraq. The autobiography is set to be published in January 2025.