Video Purportedly Shows US Sailor Assaulted in Turkey to Chants of ‘Yankee, Go Home’

A group of 15 members of a radical nationalist movement in Turkey, known as the TGB, physically attacked two US servicemen in civilian clothes in the port city of Izmir, Turkish authorities said on Monday. Video footage showed members of the “youth” movement surrounding one man, believed to be a US sailor, and putting a plastic bag over his head.

The incident was part of a self-styled “retribution” for the detention, back in 2003, of 11 Turkish commandos in northern Iraq by US forces. Initially, each of the Turkish servicemen allegedly had a bag put over their heads, similar to when other combattants are held.

According to news reports from Turkey, the ultra-nationalists use bags to reference the 2003 incident. The 11 Turkish soldiers were later released.

Turkish officials said 15 members of the vehemently anti-American Turkish Youth Union (TGB) were arrested and accused of assaulting two US military personnel in the port city. Members of the same Turkish Youth Union (TGB) have previously committed attacks against US servicemen out on leave in the country.
The sailors serve aboard teh USS Wasp, an  amphibious assault ship docked in Izmir since Sunday.
“A group of 15 members of the TGB physically attacked two American servicemen in civilian clothes,” the Izmir prefecture said in a statement.
Taking to X, the US embassy in Ankara confirmed the assault and said the victims were safe.
“We thank Turkish authorities for their rapid response and ongoing investigation,” the embassy statement read.
In boasting of the assault, the TGB posted a video on its X account showing several men forcing a bag over the head of another man dressed in civilian clothes, while the assailants chant: “Yankee go home!” in English with a Turkish accent.