Members of the Turkish Youth Union, a youth branch of the opposition nationalist Vatan Party, “physically attacked two American soldiers in civilian clothes in the Konak district,” the Izmir governor’s office said in a statement.
He said that 5 American soldiers joined the incident after seeing what happened, before the police intervened, confirming the arrest of all 15 attackers and the opening of an investigation into the matter.
A White House spokesman said Monday that Washington was “disturbed” by the attack, but added that the White House “appreciates that the Turkish police are taking this matter seriously and holding those responsible accountable.”
The US embassy in Türkiye confirmed the attack, saying the American soldiers were now safe.
“We can confirm reports that U.S. service members aboard the USS Wasp were victims of an assault in Izmir and are now safe,” she added on the X platform.
Earlier, the Turkish Youth Union broadcast a video on the X platform, showing a group holding a man in the street and putting a white cloth cover on his head, while chanting slogans.
The group said the man was a soldier aboard the Wasp, an amphibious assault ship, and the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said earlier Monday that the ship was visiting port in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir this week.
The Turkish Youth Union said: “American soldiers whose hands are stained with the blood of our soldiers and thousands of Palestinians cannot defile our country. Every time you set foot on this land, we will meet you the way you deserve.”
Relations between the United States and Turkey have been strained in recent years over Washington’s alliance with the Kurds in Syria, whom Ankara considers extremists, and over Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems, which prompted Washington to impose sanctions and remove it from the F-35 fighter jet program.
The two countries are also at odds over Israel’s war on Gaza, in which more than 40,000 people have been killed according to authorities in the Palestinian enclave, a war for which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sharply criticized Washington’s ally Israel.
The US ambassador to Turkey recently said that relations between Washington and Ankara are now “in a better place than they have been in some time,” pointing to the “helpful role” Turkey played in the recent prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia.
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