Pope Francis arrives in Baghdad for historic Iraq tour

Pope Francis landed in Baghdad on Friday for his official visit, saying he felt duty-bound to make the "emblematic" visit because Iraq had suffered so much for so long.

An Alitalia plane carrying him, his entourage, a security detail, and about 75 journalists, touched down at Baghdad International Airport slightly ahead of schedule just before 2:00 pm (local time).

Iraq is deploying thousands of additional security personnel to protect the 84-year-old pope during the visit, which comes after a spate of rocket and suicide bomb attacks raised fears for his safety.

"I am happy to be making trips again," he said in brief comments to reporters aboard his plane, alluding to the coronavirus pandemic which has prevented him from travelling.

The Iraq trip is his first outside Italy since November 2019.

"This is an emblematic trip and it is a duty towards a land that has been martyred for so many years," Francis said, before donning a mask and greeting each reporter individually, without shaking hands.

Francis' whirlwind tour will take him by plane, helicopter and possibly an armoured car to four cities, including areas that most foreign dignitaries are unable to reach, let alone in such a short space of time.

He will say Mass at a Baghdad church, meet Iraq's top Muslim cleric in the southern city of Najaf and travel north to Mosul, where the army had to empty the streets for security reasons last year for a visit by Iraq's prime minister.

Mosul is a former IS stronghold, and churches and other buildings there still bear the scars of conflict.