Iraqi asylum seeker threatens to set himself on fire in Vatican

Shafaq News/ Police have arrested an Iraqi asylum seeker who threatened to set himself on fire in the heart of the Vatican, Italian media reported.

Il Messaggero newspaper reported on Saturday that the incident took place near the portico of St. Peter's Basilica, where the immigrant who is awaiting the authorities' decision on whether to grant him asylum, began to appear in the sight of dozens of tourists and expatriates cheering in vague terms mentioning God and threatened to set himself on fire waving with a lighter.

This scene lasted for about two minutes until he was detained by police officers, and it turned out that he did not have any incendiary or explosive materials.

The incident came on the back of the death of an Iraqi man in Baghdad because of the worsening of his health, after being forcibly deported from the United States.