Two U.S. soldiers assaulted by mob in Turkey chanting ‘Yankee go home’

Two US military personnel were “physically attacked” and assaulted by a mob of Turkish youths in  Izmir, Turkiye on Monday.

The incident happened in the Turkish port city of Izmir at around 4:00pm on Monday September 2.

Video of the incident shows the assailants who are members of an anti-American youth group shouting “Yankee go home” while covering the head of one of the military personnel with a white sack.

Five other US service members joined in the incident after seeing the violent encounter.

Police intervened in the incident and arrested fifteen suspected assailants including thirteen men and two women involved in the attack, officials said.

Those detained were members of the Turkey Youth Union (TGB), a youth offshoot of the nationalist opposition Vatan Party. 

The U.S. Embassy confirmed the incident, saying service members on board the USS Wasp were “now safe.”

“We can confirm reports that US service members embarked aboard the USS Wasp were the victims of an assault in İzmir today, and are now safe,” the US embassy to Turkey said on X. “We thank Turkish authorities for their rapid response and ongoing investigation.”

“We are troubled by this assault on U.S. service members and are appreciative that Turkish police are taking this matter seriously and holding those responsible accountable,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said.

The group posted a video of the incident on social media platform X and said they placed sacks over the heads of soldiers who had disembarked from the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Wasp.

The video shows a group of men yelling, “Yankee go home!” while restraining a man and attempting to put a sack over his head.

“The U.S. soldiers who carry the blood of our soldiers and thousands of Palestinians on their hands cannot pollute our country,” the group said on X.

The USS Wasp arrived in Izmir on Sunday after conducting joint training with Turkish assault ships in the Mediterranean.

The Marines' unit is on routine deployment with the U.S. Navy’s Wasp Amphibious Readiness Group, Navy Cmdr. Timothy Gorman said.

In 2014, about 20 people claiming to be members of the Turkish Youth Union attacked three U.S. sailors in Istanbul and put a bag over one’s head.

In 2016, two members of the group were detained after trying to put a sack over the head of a U.S. soldier, the Associated Press reported. The group posted on Twitter at the time that “You put a sack over our soldiers’ heads in 2003,” according to the AP, an apparent reference to the detention of 11 Turkish special forces soldiers by U.S. troops in Iraq that sparked public outrage in Turkey.

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