Turkey has arrested 15 members of a radical nationalist youth movement accused of assaulting two US military staff in the western city of Izmir, authorities said on Monday.
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Those arrested were members of the vehemently anti-American Turkish Youth Union (TGB), whose members have previously committed attacks against US servicemen.
The sailors were part of the crew of the USS Wasp, an American amphibious assault ship docked in Izmir since September 1.
“A group of 15 members of the TGB physically attacked two American servicemen in civilian clothes,” the Izmir prefecture said in a statement.
“Our law enforcement agencies intervened quickly … Fifteen suspects were arrested,” the statement added.