Britain’s intelligence foiled a plot to kill Pope Francis

A plot to assassinate Pope Francis while on a trip to Iraq was thwarted by a British intelligence tip-off, according to his forthcoming autobiography.

The Pope writes that after landing in Baghdad in March 2021. he was informed that two suicide bombers attacked the event he was supposed to appear at.

Both attackers were later intercepted and killed, he said in excerpts published by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

The visit, which took place over three days during the coronavirus pandemic, was the first-ever visit by a pope to Iraq and had a tight security operation.

Saw years before the rise of sectarian violence in Iraq, with fighting between Shia and Sunni Muslims and persecution of religious minorities.

The country’s Christian community has shrunk dramatically, particularly under attacks by the Islamic State group and other Sunni extremists.

In excerpts from his autobiography, the Pope says that “almost everyone advised me to abandon” the visit, but he felt he “had to do it.”

He says the plot was discovered by British intelligence, who alerted Iraqi police, who in turn reported him to security officials as soon as he landed.

“A woman packed with explosives, a young suicide bomber, was heading towards Mosul to blow herself up during the papal visit,” he says.

“And the van also set off at high speed with the same intent.”

Pope adds that the next day he asked a security officer what happened to the would-be attackers.

“(The official) succinctly replied, ‘They’re gone.’ The Iraqi police intercepted them and blew them up,” he wrote.

The book titled “Hope” will be released on January 14.

The Vatican did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters news agency reported.