Former Nineveh Governor Najm al-Jabouri commented on what the Pope announced yesterday about his being subjected to an assassination attempt in Iraq in 2021 .
Najm al-Jabouri denied that the Pope was subjected to an assassination attempt during his visit to Iraq in March 2021, and said that the visit was carried out in accordance with security planning standards and did not witness any threats or security incidents .
Al-Jubouri said, “The visit was planned in advance at the highest levels, and multiple teams were formed that arrived days before the visit to ensure the security of every movement of the Pope, starting from his entry into Nineveh Governorate, through his visit to the Old City, and his trip to Alqosh and Hamdaniya, and other cities .”
He explained that “these teams included teams from Nineveh Governorate and the capital, Baghdad, in addition to British and American security teams, and a specialized team from Iraqi intelligence .”
Al-Jubouri confirmed that as head of the security committee in the province at the time, he was aware of all the security details related to the visit in Nineveh and Iraq .
He pointed out that “there was no report or telegram indicating a threat to the Pope’s life, and all security operations and directives in Nineveh were issued under my direct supervision .”
He added, “If there was a threat to the life of a person of the stature of the Pope, international security protocol would have required the cancellation of the visit, but this did not happen, and it is conclusive evidence that there is no threat .”
Al-Jubouri pointed out that Nineveh Governorate enjoyed a high level of security and stability during that period, which enabled the Pope to visit the city with complete ease, adding: “The visit of the Pope of the Vatican was not the only one, as it was followed by the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron, who toured the old city and visited several sites without recording any security incident .”
Al-Jubouri considered that “talk about an assassination attempt may be due to “attempts by some security agencies to achieve media achievements or draw attention, or perhaps the Pope received false intelligence information .”
He continued, “We have not heard of what is being said about this attempt, nor have we seen any evidence proving that it happened. It is strange that it was issued at this time, especially since we in Iraq had no knowledge of what was being rumored .”
The Pope revealed that he was the target of a suicide bombing attempt during his visit to Iraq three years ago .
In an excerpt published Tuesday from his upcoming autobiography, Pope Francis said police had told him that at least two known suicide bombers were targeting an event he was due to attend .
“A woman loaded with explosives, a young suicide bomber, was heading to Mosul to blow herself up during the papal visit, and a van drove off at top speed with the same intention, ” the pope wrote, according to an excerpt from the book published by the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
In the excerpt published Tuesday, the Pope said that British intelligence had informed the Vatican of the assassination attempt . The pope said he asked a security official the next day what happened to the would-be suicide bombers .
Pope Francis wrote: “The commander responded briefly: They are no longer there, the Iraqi police intercepted them and blew them up.”
