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Turkey has arrested 15 members of a radical nationalist youth movement accused of assaulting two US military personnel in the western city of Izmir, authorities said on Monday.
Those arrested were members of the vehemently anti-American Turkish Youth Union (TGB), whose members have previously committed attacks against US servicemen.
The sailors were part of the crew of the USS Wasp, an American amphibious assault ship docked in Izmir since September 1.
“A group of 15 members of the TGB physically attacked two American servicemen in civilian clothes,” the Izmir prefecture said in a statement.
“Our law enforcement agencies intervened quickly… Fifteen suspects were arrested,” the statement added.
On social media network X, the American embassy in Turkey confirmed the assault and said the victims were safe.
“We thank Turkish authorities for their rapid response and ongoing investigation,” the embassy added.
Claiming the attack, the TGB posted a video on its X account in which several people are seen forcing a bag over the head of a person dressed in civilian clothes as the attackers chant: “Yankee go home!” in English.
“American soldiers who carry the blood of our soldiers and thousands of Palestinians on their hands cannot defile our country,” the TGB said.
The bag over the head referred to an incident from the 2003 Iraq war when US forces in northern Iraq arrested a group of Turkish soldiers, forced hoods over their heads and held them for three days.
The incident outraged many in Turkey.
In mid-August, the USS Wasp carried out joint training exercises with Turkish military vessels in the Mediterranean.
The drills drew criticism from Turkish media close to the opposition, which saw the American ship’s deployment as part of the United States’ support for Israel.
The Turkish defence ministry rejected the criticism, calling the training a “routine” activity “neither beneficial to Israel nor harmful to Palestine”.
In 2014, several dozen TGB members attacked three US sailors in central Istanbul, throwing red dye and seeking to force white sacks as hoods on their heads.
Twelve of the protesters were freed without questioning or charges.
The group claims to be loyal to the principles of modern Turkey’s founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, staunchly opposing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Islamic-rooted party.
Besides its vehement anti-Americanism, the TGB also strongly opposes Turkey’s bid to join the European Union.
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