With this telegram to the president of Iraq, Pope Francis expressed sorrow for the double suicide attack in Baghdad, which left at least 28 people dead.
The events took place on Thursday in one of the city's markets.
It's a serious blow to Baghdad's morale. The city had not seen any suicide attacks in a year and a half. Despite political instability, these attacks had become unusual, especially since the fall of the Islamic State in 2017.
The pope's telegram makes no mention of Pope Francis' planned trip to Iraq from March 5 to 8.
It will be his first international trip since the pandemic broke out, but stability in the region remains a key condition for the trip to go on as scheduled.
Javier Romero
