Turkey arrests 15 for attack on US personnel in Izmir

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Fifteen members of a Turkish ultranationalist group were arrested on Monday and charged with attacking two US military personnel while at port in the western coastal city of Izmir.

“Fifteen suspects involved in the incident have been detained and taken into custody upon the orders of the on-duty public prosecutor,” read a statement from Izmir governorate.

Around 4 pm on Monday, the statement added, a group from the ultranationalist Turkish Youth Union (TGB) attacked US service members in civilian clothes in Izmir.

“A judicial investigation has been initiated regarding the matter,” the statement said.

Five other US military personnel were nearby, but not did not get involved in the incident, according to the statement.

The US Embassy in Turkey confirmed the attack on the US service members in a post on X.

The embassy added that the US personnel “were safe” and thanked “Turkish authorities for their rapid response and ongoing investigation.”

The two service members were aboard the USS Wasp, a multipurpose assault ship anchored in Izmir since Sunday. The crowded area where the attack took place is popular among tourists and locals.

TGB claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on X and warned US military members from stepping foot on Turkish soil.

“American soldiers, who carry the blood of our soldiers and thousands of Palestinians on their hands, cannot defile our country,” the group said in a post on X that showed footage of the attack.

In the video, a group of people can be seen holding one of the US military members and forcing a plastic bag over their head, as the US soldier can be heard pleading for help. Some of the attackers also chanted: “Yankee, go home!”

The ultranationalist said the bag over the head of the US service member is in retaliation for US forces apprehending a group of Turkish soldiers for three days and putting hoods over their heads in Sulaimani province in the Kurdistan Region during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The TGB confirmed that 15 of its members were arrested, including their leader Kayahan Cetin, in a later post on X.

The USS Wasp had conducted joint-training drills with Turkish military vessels in the Mediterranean Sea in mid-August. The maneuvers drew waves of criticism in Turkish media, depicting the deployment as a part of an operation to support Israel.

The Turkish defense ministry described the training at the time as a “routine” activity that did not benefit Israel, nor harm Palestine.