Fifteen members of a Turkish nationalist group were arrested on Monday (2) in Izmir, a city in southwestern Turkey, for attacking two US Marines.
According to information from CNN, the two soldiers, from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and who are embarked on the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp, were on leave and walking through the city center when they were attacked by members of the Turkish Youth Union.
Video of the attack shows the two Marines being held down while members of the group put a bag over one of their heads and the crowd chants, “Yankees go home!” Police intervened and arrested 15 suspects.
American soldiers had already been attacked by members of the Turkish nationalist organization in 2014 and 2021. The act of placing bags over their heads would be a response to an action by the United States Army, which in 2003, shortly after the start of the war in Iraq, captured Turkish soldiers and placed bags over their heads.
The US embassy in Turkey thanked Turkish authorities “for their swift response and ongoing investigation” into the incident, but relations between Ankara and Washington are strained.
Despite being a NATO member, the Turkish government has not adhered to sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and has increased its imports of Russian oil, helping the Kremlin’s war effort.
Furthermore, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cut trade relations with Israel and compared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler due to the war in the Gaza Strip, an offensive in which the Israeli government is counting on the help of the United States, its main geopolitical ally.
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