quote:

Two U.S. service members were assaulted in Izmir, Turkey, on Monday "and are now safe," the U.S. Embassy in Turkey and the local governor's office said in statements on X.

"We can confirm reports that U.S. service members embarked aboard the USS Wasp were the victims of an assault in İzmir today and are now safe. We thank Turkish authorities for their rapid response and ongoing investigation," the U.S. Embassy in Turkey said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"A group of 15 people, 2 women and 13 men, members of the Turkish Youth Union (TGB), physically attacked 2 U.S. military personnel in civilian clothes," the Izmir Governorship, the local governor's office, said in a post on X.

"In addition, 5 plain clothes US soldiers saw the incident from a distance, and got involved. Our police forces quickly responded to the incident," the Izmir Governorship added.

The local authorities took 15 suspects into custody and a "judicial investigation has been initiated regarding the matter," the Izmir Governorship said.

The Turkish Youth Union is a national youth and student group that has an anti-American and anti-imperialist stance. They are linked to the Turkish "Vatan Party," a nationalist political party in Turkey.

The USS Wasp arrived in Izmir on Sunday for a "regularly scheduled port visit," the Department of Defense said.

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Originally posted by honestlou:
I don’t know what this was, but the guy in the blue shirt seemed to be smiling before they put the hood over his head, and no one seemed to be fighting.

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Originally posted by arfmel:
BRICS? Translation please.

And fuck those Turkish bastards.

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Originally posted by arfmel:
BRICS? Translation please.

And fuck those Turkish bastards.

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Originally posted by 1gkek:
This looks theatrical to me, not actually dangerous. Lots of people standing around watching. Social media street cred. Izmir's had a Navy base there for a long time so it's easy for the activists to find targets. Had those been Marines it might have gone differently.

I was Army stationed in Turkey for 19 months, 89-90. It was interesting but complicated. When you crossed the Bosphorus it was almost like a different country. The farther east you went the less friendly it became. A dude out there tried to run me and a buddy over with his horse drawn cart one day. When he did a u-turn to come back for a second pass we moved on. A little Turkish went a long way to engender goodwill, but we stayed low-key and avoided crowds and drama. I'd seen Midnight Express. I didn't want to end up in Turkish Prison.

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Originally posted by limblessbiff:
I’m surprised they didn’t get cut. In my MP days in Germany we had a ton of Turks there, and I saw soldiers getting cut by Turks almost weekly. They won’t stab you but they damn sure will cut you.

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Originally posted by Rightwire:
I never served bit are those going ashore given training or orders on how to respond in a situation like this? I can't imagine this has never happened before.