Pope Francis has revealed how British intelligence thwarted an assassination plot against him during his 2021 trip to Iraq by two suicide bombers.
The pontiff made this revelation in excerpts from his upcoming autobiography, published by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Tuesday, coinciding with his 88th birthday.
The book, titled ‘Hope’, is set for release in January 2025.
In the excerpts, Pope Francis narrated how he travelled to Iraq in March 2021 despite warnings against the trip.
The pope disclosed he was informed about two suicide bombers targeting events he was scheduled to attend upon arriving in Bagdad.
“A woman packed with explosives, a young suicide bomber, was heading toward Mosul to blow herself up during the papal visit,” the pontiff said. “A van, also speeding toward the same target, had the same intention.”
According to the Pope Francis, British intelligence swiftly alerted Iraqi authorities, allowing them to intercept and kill the attackers.
The pope further said that when he inquired about the bombers’ fate, an Iraqi official told him the bombers had been killed.
“The (official) replied laconically: ‘They are no more’. The Iraqi police had intercepted them and blown them up,” the pope stated.
