Editing Mehmet Ali Ağca (section)

==Attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II==
{{Main|Attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II}}
[[File:Popemobile assassination attempt John Paul II 13 may 1981 Vatican 13.jpg|thumb|The Fiat ''[[Popemobile]]'' in which [[Pope John Paul II]] was the subject of an assassination attempt. This vehicle is now in the "Carriage museum" in [[Vatican Museums|Vatican City]].]]

In 1979 ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that Ağca, whom it called "the self-confessed killer of an Istanbul newspaperman", had described the Pope as "the masked leader of the [[Crusades]]" and threatened to shoot him if he did not cancel his planned visit to Turkey,<ref name=AA2014-11-26-01a>{{cite news|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/john-paul-iis-visit-sparked-little-interest-in-turkey/97856|title=John Paul II's visit sparked little interest in Turkey|publisher=[[Anadolu Agency]]|author=A. Humeyra Atilgan|date=26 November 2014|access-date=23 February 2021|quote=... AA remembers John Paul II's 1979 visit ... reported by the New York Times. "One cause of concern was a threat to the pope by the self-confessed killer of an Istanbul newspaperman," the paper said. "Ali Agca called the pontiff 'the masked leader of the crusades' and warned that if the visit were not cancelled he would shoot the Roman Catholic leader." Mehmet Ali Agca would indeed fire four bullets into John Paul II on 13 May 1981|archive-date=8 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210408150033/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/john-paul-iis-visit-sparked-little-interest-in-turkey/97856|url-status=live}}</ref> which went ahead in late November 1979.<ref name=VatLib-01a>{{cite web|url=http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/travels/1979/travels/documents/trav_turkey.html|title=Apostolic Journey to Turkey 1979|publisher=[[Vatican Library]]|author=|date=|access-date=23 February 2021|quote=|archive-date=9 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109165716/https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/travels/1979/travels/documents/trav_turkey.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The paper also said (on 28 November 1979) that the killing would be in revenge for the [[Grand Mosque seizure|then still ongoing attack]] on the [[Masjid al-Haram|Grand Mosque]] in [[Mecca]], which had begun on 20 November, and which he blamed on the United States or Israel.<ref name=NYT1979-11-28-01a>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/28/archives/popes-turkish-visit-gets-extra-security-death-threat-from-escaped.html|title=POPE'S TURKISH VISIT GETS EXTRA SECURITY|work=[[New York Times]]|author=Marvine Howe|date=28 November 1979|access-date=23 February 2021|quote=ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 27 — ... Threat to Kill Pope<br />One cause of concern was a threat to kill the Pope by the self‐confessed killer of an Istanbul newspaperman who escaped from a military prison Sunday. In a signed letter to the independent daily Milliyet, the paper whose editor was killed in February, the fugitive, Ali Agca, called the Pontiff "the masked leader of the Crusades," and warned that if the visit were not cancelled he would shoot the Roman Catholic leader in "revenge" for the recent attack on the Grand Mosque in the Islamic holy city of Mecca, an attack that he alleged was of American or Israeli origin.|archive-date=8 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210408150100/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/28/archives/popes-turkish-visit-gets-extra-security-death-threat-from-escaped.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Beginning in August 1980, Ağca began criss-crossing the Mediterranean region. According to his later testimony, he met with three accomplices in Rome, one a fellow Turk and the other two Bulgarians. The operation was commanded by Zilo Vassilev, the Bulgarian [[military attaché]] in Italy.{{efn|Ali Agca claimed he was under directions from the Bulgarian embassy in Rome and allegedly Stasi archives of letters from Stasi operatives to their Bulgarian counterparts seeking help in covering up traces after the attack verified this according to ''Corriere della Sera''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://lenta.ru/news/2005/03/31/kgb/ |title=Corriere della Sera: Покушение на Папу Римского подготовили КГБ и "Штази" |trans-title=Corriere della Sera: Assassination attempt on Pope Francis prepared by KGB and Stasi |language=ru |work=Лента.Ру |date=31 March 2005 |access-date=25 October 2024 |archive-date=25 October 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241025213950/https://web.archive.org/web/20100129094832/http://lenta.ru/news/2005/03/31/kgb/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>}} He said that he was assigned this mission by Turkish mafioso Bekir Çelenk in Bulgaria. ''[[Le Monde diplomatique]]'', however, has alleged that the assassination attempt was organized by Abdullah Çatlı "in exchange for the sum of 3 million marks", paid by Bekir Çelenk to the Grey Wolves.<ref>[[Martin A. Lee]], "[http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1997/03/LEE/8019.html Les liaisons dangereuses de la police turque] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105171852/http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/1997/03/LEE/8019.html |date=5 November 2013 }}," ''[[Le Monde diplomatique]]'', 3 March 1997.</ref>

According to Ağca, the plan was for him and the back-up gunman Oral Çelik to open fire in [[St. Peter's Square]] and escape to the Bulgarian embassy under the cover of the panic generated by a small explosion. On 13 May they sat in the Square, writing postcards and waiting for the Pope to arrive. When the Pope passed them, Ağca fired several shots and wounded him, but was grabbed by spectators and Vatican security chief [[Camillo Cibin]]. This prevented him from finishing the assassination or escaping. Two bullets hit John Paul II, one of them lodging in his lower intestine, the other hitting his left hand. Two bystanders were also hit. Çelik panicked and fled without setting off his bomb or opening fire. The Pope survived the assassination attempt.