Pope At Risk Of Assassination By ISIS During Forthcoming Visits To Albania & Turkey

ISIS has made 'credible threats' to kill Pope Francis, a top Iraqi diplomat has warned just days before the Pontiff visits the mainly Muslim nation of Albania. Habeeb Al Sadr issued the stark warning today after Vatican officials insisted there was no threat to his safety - and said he will not ride in the bulletproof 'Popemobile' of his predecessor Benedict XVI. Mr Al Sadr, Iraq's ambassador admitted he knew of no 'specific facts' or 'operational projects' but said: 'Just put two and two together... They want to kill the Pope.'

The ambassador said the spread of extremists across the world meant Pope Francis is at risk anywhere in Muslim countries, on trips to Britain and the U.S. and even in Rome. He told the Italian newspaper La Nazione: 'Threats against the Pope are credible. Public statements and crimes against Christianity by ISIS are a fact. Just put two and two together.

'Let me be clear, I am not aware of specific facts or operational projects. But what has been said by the self-declared "Islamic state" terrorists is clear. They want to kill the Pope. 'I think they could try to hit him during his travels or even in Rome, because there are members of ISIS who are not Arabs but also Canadians, Americans, French, British and Italian.

'This gang of criminals does not merely threaten. In Iraq they have violated or destroyed some of the holiest sites of Shia Islam. They have hit places of worship in the Yazidi religion and Christianity. They forced 150,00 Christians to flee Mosul.'

An armoured Popemobile was introduced after the 1981 assassination attempt on John Paul II (pictured in Nigeria) but Pope Francis has said he dislikes the vehicle and would prefer not to use it

The ambassador said the ethos of the terrorists was 'convert or be killed' and described their murderous spread through Iraq as a 'genocide'. But he added Christians could not be 'prisoners of fear' and called on the Pope to send 'a message of hope to the Christians of the Middle East and around the world'.

He added: 'With his wisdom and his courage could make this visit a bridge between our religions, a message of peace in the name of Abraham.'

Iraq had among the first Christians in the world, in the form of Assyrians who have faced centuries of persecution since. Up to a million Christians are thought to have fled the country since British and U.S. troops invaded in 2003, with the violence of ISIS militants triggering a new exodus.

Credit: Mailonline