BAGHDAD: Pope Francis landed in war-battered Iraq Friday on the first-ever papal visit, defying security fears and the pandemic to comfort one of the world's oldest and most persecuted Christian communities.
His plane landed at 1:55 pm (1055 GMT) at Baghdad International Airport, where Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi will greet him.
"I'm happy to resume travel, and this symbolic trip is also a duty to a land that has been martyred for years," Francis told journalists aboard his plane.