'Jihadist plot to kill Pope Francis' thwarted as police arrest four Kosovans

Italy: Four people have been arrested over alleged threats made by jihadists to kill Pope Franics.

The arrests, made in Italy and Kosovo, were conducted by anti-terror police who had been monitory a "highly dangerous group" on social media.

All four were Kosovan nationals said to have links to Syria.

Police said threats had been made warning Pope Francis "would be the last Pope".

There were also threats made against the ex-US ambassador in Kosovo and praise for the Paris terror attacks which left 130 people dead.

The arrests followed raids in the Italian cities Brescia, Vicenza and Perugia as well as Kosovo.

Police said "the [alleged] terrorist team propagated the ideology of jihad through social networks".

The alleged 'ringleader' of the group is believed to have lived in Italy before being arrested in Kosovo.

ISIS has threatened the Pope's life for months, with the Islamic fanatics accusing him of being the 'bearer of false truth.'

A bomb plot against him in Manila by Jihadist terrorists Jemaah Islamiyah was reportedly thwarted by the Philippines military in January.

Italian prosecutors have also warned that the Mafia have considered a hit.

But the Pope made light of the threats in an interview with La Carcova News, a home-made tabloid edited by the slum community of Gran Buenos Aires in his native Argentina.

The Pontiff said: "Life is in God's hands. I have said to the Lord, 'You take care of me. But if it is your will that I die or something happens to me, I ask you only one favour - that it doesn't hurt. Because I am a real wimp when it comes to physical pain'."