Small crowd assaults two US Marines in Turkey, US Navy says

(CNN) — A small crowd assaulted two US Marines in the port city of Izmir in Turkey on Monday, according to the US Navy.

The Marines, assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, were on liberty in Izmir when the assault occurred Monday afternoon, the US Sixth Fleet said in a statement.

Video of the assault confirmed by a US official shows several people holding the Marines by force as a speaker on the street screams loudly. One of the Marines shouts “Help!” several times, while the crowd puts a bag over the head of another Marine. The crowd then starts chanting, “Yankee, go home!”

The Marines were able to break away from the crowd with the help of other Marines in the area, the Navy said. They were screened at a local hospital and are not injured. The Marines have returned to the USS Wasp.

Local Izmir police and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service are investigating the incident, the Navy said. No Marines were detained, and those involved in the incident are cooperating with investigators.

“We can confirm reports that U.S. service members embarked aboard the USS Wasp were the victims of an assault in Izmir today, and are now safe,” the US Embassy in Turkey said on social media. “We thank Turkish authorities for their rapid response and ongoing investigation.”

Izmir Governorship said in a statement that local police intervened in the incident and that 15 suspects were taken into custody.

The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is part of the USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group, which is operating in the eastern Mediterranean Sea amid concerns of a regional escalation. The USS Wasp had pulled into Izmir one day earlier, and the Marines were allowed to leave the ship for a break.

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