Indonesian Police Foil ISIS-Linked Terror Plot to Assassinate Pope Francis During Asia Tour

Indonesian police have uncovered a plot to assassinate Pope Francis during his tour of Asia after arresting seven suspects linked to the Islamic State (ISIS).

According to local authorities, the arrests were made earlier this week following a tip-off from the public.

Pope, who was in Indonesia on Friday as part of an 11-day tour across Asia-Pacific countries, became a target after visiting a mosque in Jakarta.

The visit was intended to improve religious-community relations, but it angered the suspects. According to reports from The Sun, the group was also frustrated by the Indonesian government’s request to television stations to avoid broadcasting the Islamic call to prayer while airing the Pope’s visit.

During police raids on the homes of the suspects, authorities discovered a range of weapons and propaganda materials, including a bow and arrows, a drone, and ISIS leaflets.

All the suspects, identified only by their initials HFP, LB, DF, FA, HS, ER, and RS, were arrested on Monday and Tuesday during coordinated operations in Jakarta, Bogor, and Bekasi.

Colonel Aswin Siregar, a spokesman for Indonesia’s elite counter-terrorism unit Detachment 88 (Densus 88), stated that the group had aired threats on social media in response to the Pope’s arrival.

“We have a mechanism to monitor and filter,” Siregar explained. “We had tip-off information from members of the public.

Densus 88 has taken legal action against seven individuals … who made threats in the form of propaganda or terror threats via social media in response to the Pope’s arrival. There was also a threat to set fire to the locations.”

It remains unclear if the seven suspects.