Two U.S. Marines from the USS Wasp were attacked during a port visit in Izmir, Turkey, the U.S. Sixth Fleet said Monday.
The Marines, wearing civilian clothes, were assaulted by a group of two women and 13 men who are members of the Turkish Youth Group, according to the Izmir Governorship, the local governor’s office, in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The Turkish Youth Union is a national youth and student group that has an anti-American and anti-imperialist stance. They are linked to the Turkish “Vatan Party,” a nationalist political party in Turkey.
In this screen grab from a video posted by the Turkish Youth Union, multiple people are shown assaulting 2 service members, using a bag to cover one of the service members’ head, while chanting “Yankee go home.”
@genclikbirligi/Twitter
The U.S. Embassy in Turkey confirmed the attack in a post on X and said the service members were safe and thanked the Turkish authorities “for their rapid response and ongoing investigation.”
The Izmir Governorship said “5 plain clothes US soldiers saw the incident from a distance, and got involved.”
The Sixth Fleet said the two Marines were aided by other Marines in the area and were taken to a local hospital for evaluation but were not injured and have returned to the USS Wasp. No Marines were detained by authorities and those involved were cooperating with investigators, it said.
Local authorities took 15 suspects into custody, the Izmir Governorship said. A “judicial investigation has been initiated regarding the matter,” it said.
The USS Wasp arrived in Izmir on Sunday for a “regularly scheduled port visit,” the Department of Defense said.