TEMPO.CO, Rome - Pope Francis is facing an assassination attempt by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) militants. The pope is preparing a visit to Albania, a Muslim-majority country.
As reported by The Telegraph on Tuesday, warning over threats to assassinate Pope Francis came from Habeeb Al Sadr, Iraq’s Ambassador to the Vatican. He said there were indications that the threats came after Pope Francis declared his support for US and its allies’ plans to combat ISIS.
"I believe they could try to kill him during one of his overseas trips or even in Rome. There are members of ISIL who are not Arabs but Canadians, Americans, Frenchmen, Britons, also Italians,” Al Sadr told La Nazione.
However, the Vatican said there would be no extra security for Pope Francis when during his papal visit to Albania. The pope will also visit Turkey in November 2014.
In the last few weeks, ISIS has been planning to seize Rome and hoist their flag on top of St Peter’s Basilica.
THE TELEGRAPH | VIQIANSAH DENNIS