Two Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit who are currently embarked on the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp were assaulted on Sunday while the ship was in port at Izmir, Turkey, said Cmdr. Timothy Gorman, a spokesman for U.S. 6th Fleet.
The incident took place about 3:30 p.m. local time on Sunday, Gorman said in a statement.
“The two Marines were aided by other Marines in the area and were subsequently taken to a local hospital for evaluation as a precaution but were not injured and have returned to the USS Wasp,” Gorman said. “Local Izmir police and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are cooperating in an investigation of the incident. No Marines have been detained by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators.”
Video of the incident circulated widely on social media shows one of the service members dressed in civilian clothes surrounded by several men who have grabbed hold of him. One of the men puts a bag over the American’s head.
Another service member tries to come to the Marine’s assistance but he is quickly grabbed by the Turkish mob, which starts to chant “Yankee, go home!”
No information about how the altercation started was immediately available. Turkey has detained 15 members of the Turkish Youth Union, an anti-American group, in connection with the incident, the Associated Press has reported.
The same group is believed responsible for a 2014 attack on three sailors from the destroyer USS Ross in Istanbul. About 20 members of the Turkish Youth Union surrounded and placed bags over the sailors’ heads.
In 2016, two members of the group also tried to put a bag over the head of a U.S. soldier at an airbase in Turkey. In a video of the assault posted on X, one of the assailants said: “You put a sack over our soldiers’ heads in 2003. You are responsible for that and for the terrorism in our country.”
His comments were a reference to Turkish special operations troops, who were arrested by American service members in July 2003 in northern Iraq and had hoods placed on their heads, prompting outrage in Turkey.
The U.S. Embassy in Turkey first confirmed on Sunday that service members embarked aboard the Wasp had been assaulted and were now safe.
“We thank Turkish authorities for their rapid response and ongoing investigation,” the embassy posted on X.
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The Wasp Amphibious Ready Group and 24th MEU recently completed a bilateral training exercise with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, Gorman said.
In August, the Defense Department dispatched the Wasp ARG MEU and other ships to the Middle East following an Israeli airstrike that killed a senior Hezbollah leader in Beirut and the assassination of a top Hamas leader in Tehran, for which Israel has not claimed responsibility.
The Pentagon later decided to keep two aircraft carriers in the U.S. Central Command theater of operations later that month after the Israelis launched preemptive strikes against Hezbollah before the terrorist group could launch drones and rockets against Israel.
The Wasp is currently still in port at Izmir, Turkey, according to 6th Fleet.