Philippines says was on guard against papal ‘suicide attack’

Manila: The Philippines investigated a report that a Malaysian suicide bomber was planning to try to kill Pope Francis during the pontiff’s visit to Manila this month, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas said on Tuesday.
Filipino police and soldiers threw up a massive operation involving nearly 40,000 personnel to protect the pope during the January 15-19 visit, which went off without any reported security incidents.
“Around the time of the papal visit, there was unsubstantiated intelligence about a Malaysian national who supposedly had a plan, either through a backpack or a vest, to be a suicide bomber,” Roxas told.
“But we followed all the leads and we found no substantiation,” he said without elaborating. The pope’s visit to Asia’s Catholic bastion saw the pontiff draw massive crowds at every public appearance despite tight security. (PTI)