By Oren Lieberman, Gul Tuysuz and Avery Schmitz | CNN
More than a dozen members of a Turkish national youth organization were taken into custody in Turkey after attacking two U.S. Marines, in accordance with local authorities.
The Marines, assigned to the twenty fourth Marine Expeditionary Unit, were on shore leave in Izmir when the attack occurred Monday afternoon, the U.S. Sixth Fleet said in an announcement.
According to local authorities, the Marines were attacked by members of the Turkish Youth Union, a nationalist, anti-American organization that has previously attacked U.S. soldiers.
A video of the attack, confirmed by a U.S. official, shows several people using force to restrain the Marines while a speaker on the street shouts loudly. One of the Marines yells “Help!” several times as the group places a bag over the pinnacle of one other Marine. The crowd then begins to chant, “Yankee, go home!”
The Marines were in a position to break free from the group with help from other Marines in the world, the Navy said. They were evaluated at an area hospital and weren’t injured. The Marines have returned to the USS Wasp.
The US and Turkey are NATO allies, but relations between the 2 countries have often been strained. Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a vocal critic of Israel and accused the country of genocide. In April, Erdogan received Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul. Turkey also blocked Sweden's accession to NATO on the grounds that Sweden was harboring Kurdish terrorist groups. Erdogan backed down when the US pushed forward plans to sell Turkey advanced American fighter jets.
“We can confirm reports that U.S. service members embarked aboard the USS Wasp were the victims of an attack in Izmir today and are now safe,” the U.S. Embassy in Turkey said on social media. “We thank Turkish authorities for their quick response and ongoing investigation.”
An announcement from Izmir governors said local police intervened within the incident and 15 suspects were arrested.
This isn’t the primary time the Turkish Youth Union has attacked US soldiers. In 2021, Turkish authorities arrested 17 members of the group for putting a hood over the pinnacle of a US Navy civilian worker. Reuters reported on the timeTheir actions were a protest against US policy within the Middle East.
In a similar incident in 2014Members of the organization attacked three US sailors who were on vacation from their ship in Istanbul and put bags over their heads. During the attack, the attackers chanted “Yankee, go home!”
For the Turkish Youth Union, putting bags over the heads of US soldiers is a reference to an infamous 2003 incident often known as the “Hood Incident.” Shortly after the invasion of Iraq, US troops captured Turkish soldiers, put bags over their heads and held them for 60 hours.
The twenty fourth Marine Expeditionary Unit is an element of the USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, that’s in operation within the Eastern Mediterranean amid fears of regional escalation. The USS Wasp had arrived in Izmir a day earlier and the Marines were allowed to depart the ship for a rest.
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