Two Marines attacked by anti-American group during stopover in Türkiye

Two off-duty Marines assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit were assaulted by a group of men on a busy street in Turkey over the weekend, according to video of the incident posted on social media and a spokesperson for the U.S. Sixth Fleet.

The Marines were on a regular visit to the Turkish port of Izmir on Sunday when a group — believed to be the Turkish Youth Union, according to the Associated Press — attacked the service members, shoving a bag over their heads. Turkish authorities have arrested 15 people suspected of involvement in the attack, the news agency reported.

The U.S. Embassy in Turkey said the Marines were “now safe” and thanked Turkish authorities for their “prompt response” and investigation in a message posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.

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“Both Marines were assisted by other Marines in the area and were later taken to a local hospital for evaluation as a precaution, but were uninjured and returned to the USS Wasp,” Commander Timothy Gorman, a spokesman for the U.S. 6th Fleet, said in a statement sent to Military.com Monday. “Local police in Izmir and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are cooperating in an investigation into the incident.”

“No Marines have been arrested by authorities and those involved are cooperating with investigators,” he added. One Marine repeatedly yelled for help as the crowd grabbed the two service members.

The Turkish Youth Union posted a video of the attack on social media claiming responsibility for the attack on the service members, who are part of the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, which includes the USS Wasp. The 24th MEU is currently aboard the Wasp ARG as part of a “routine deployment” in support of deterrence during the war between Israel and Hamas.

The youth group is associated with a nationalist political party in Türkiye, according to the AP.

While Turkey and the United States are NATO allies, Istanbul, and particularly Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have criticized Israel in the context of the war. Sunday’s incident appears to have been motivated by the conflict and the US involvement, according to the social media post by the Turkish youth group.

“American soldiers, who bear on their hands the blood of our soldiers and thousands of Palestinians, cannot defile our country,” the group said on social media.

In 2014, the same group threw red dye on the heads of three U.S. sailors at large in Istanbul and put bags on them, Military.com reported. They had been taken off the destroyer USS Ross at the time.

Neither the Marine Corps nor the Navy responded to questions about whether the incident would affect service members’ ability to take leave in Turkey by press time.

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