A scary moment yesterday when a couple of US Marines on shore leave were attacked by a group of Turkish leftists in the street.

Two U.S. Marines from the USS Wasp were attacked Monday during a port visit in Izmir, Turkey, according to a Navy spokesperson. Video of the apparent incident shows a group of men forcing a bag over the head of one of the Marines as they restrain him, chanting "Yankee go home."...

The Marines, part of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, were "on liberty" at the time of the incident and taken to a local hospital for evaluation as a precaution, said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Timothy Gorman, U.S. Sixth Fleet spokesperson. The Marines returned to their ship later Monday.

The anti-American group behind this is called the Türkiye Gençlik Birliği or Turkish Youth Union. According to Wikipedia, they are an "Islamic communist revolutionary youth organization closely associated with the Patriotic Party." The Patriotic Party is pro-China and pro-Russia party which has been described as left-wing nationalists.

Here's the video they posted yesterday of the attack.

ABD'NİN EN BÜYÜK TAARRUZ GEMİSİ USS WASP'TA GÖREVLİ ABD ASKERLERİNE ÇUVAL GEÇİRDİK!

Mehmetçiğimizin ve binlerce Filistinlinin kanını elinde taşıyan ABD askerleri ülkemizi kirletemez.

Bu topraklara her adım attığınızda sizi hak ettiğiniz gibi karşılayacağız!
@USEmbassyTurkey… pic.twitter.com/Brzr6KZP8m

— TGB (@genclikbirligi) September 2, 2024

According to the text of this tweet, they were doing this for the Palestinian people:

WE PUT SACKS ON THE US SOLDIERS SERVING ON THE LARGEST ATTACK SHIP OF THE USA, USS WASP!

US soldiers, who carry the blood of our soldiers and thousands of Palestinians on their hands, cannot defile our country.

Every time you step into these lands, we will welcome you as you deserve!

This is not the first time this group has attacked US service members like this.

It’s not the first time the Turkish Youth Union has attacked US service members. In 2021, authorities in Turkey arrested 17 members of the group for putting a hood over the head of a US Navy civilian employee, Reuters reported at the time. Their actions were in protest of US policy in the Middle East.

In a similar incident in 2014, members of the organization attacked three US sailors on leave from their ship in Istanbul, placing bags over their heads. The assailants chanted “Yankee, go home!” during the attack.

They've also done this in 2016 and in 2011. The sack over the head is a reference to something US soldiers did to Turkish soldiers back in 2003.

For the Turkish Youth Union, placing bags over the heads of US service members is a reference to an infamous incident in 2003 known as the “hood incident.” Shortly after the invasion of Iraq, US troops captured Turkish soldiers and placed bags over their heads, detaining them for 60 hours.

Local authorities have arrested 15 people, 13 men and two women, who were involved in the attack. We'll have to wait and see what happens to them, if anything.

Obviously Turkey is supposed to be an American ally and is a NATO member, so this isn't really the kind of treatment you expect your service members to received when visiting an allies territory. But this particular group doesn't actually hold any power in Turkey, they are just looking to cause trouble. They are the Turkish equivalent of the leftist militants setting up tent camps on US college campuses.

Here's a report about the very similar attack this group carried out back in 2014:

So far I haven't seen any word of reaction to this from President Biden. The only politician I see responding so far is Nikki Haley who said Turkey should answer for this.

This cannot happen to members of our military without Turkey having to answer for it. Harris needs to demand accountability from Turkey for those who intended to harm our Marines. The Marines are to be commended for their calm response in what was an unacceptable act. They…

— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) September 3, 2024

I'll add updates below if I see any response from Biden or Harris.