ERBIL - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with Pope Francis in Vatican and presented him with fragments salvaged from an ancient bible which was burned by the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq.

The Kurdish premier arrived in Rome on Tuesday where, apart from Pope Francis, he also held meetings with his Italian counterpart and Vatican’s Secretary of State.

During his meeting with Pope, PM Barzani shed light on the current situation for religious freedom in Iraq.

"Today I presented His Holiness Pope Francis @Pontifex with fragments salvaged from an ancient bible which had been burned by ISIS," Barzani wrote on Twitter.

"This is what Kurdistan stands for: united in protecting our tradition of tolerance between different faiths from those who try to drive us apart," he added.

In a video message, the Kurdish prime minister explained that the fragments of the old bible were recovered by the Kurdistan Region's Peshmerga forces, who played a key role in the fight against the IS group in Iraq and the region.

"It is a very old bible that was burned by ISIS, and these are some of the pieces that were recovered by the Peshmergas that actually went and liberated the area from ISIS and put back, the cross, back on the church. This is what Kurdistan is about; Enemies try to destroy it, we try to protect it."

BasNews