Businessweek reports that American troops in Instanbul were attacked by an “anti-imperialist youth union.” They restrained one soldier and placed a plastic bag on his head.
A group of Turkish youth in Istanbul today attacked three American soldiers and tried to place hoods over their heads, video footage shows.
Young men carrying the banner of a Turkish nationalist youth group first called the Americans “murderers” and told them to “get out of our land,” then began to throw cans containing red paint at them. At least two of those assaulted by the group were seen running away after the crowd tried to place white sacks over their heads while chanting “Yankee, go home.”
The assault was against sailors on the USS Ross, a warship docked in Istanbul after NATO training exercises in the Black Sea
While Turkey has finally agreed to allow the US use of Turkish bases in its effort to push back ISIS, doubts remain about the security of troops.
A bold yet ultimately unsuccessful kidnapping plot orchestrated by the Islamic State in Turkey raises new questions about the safety of U.S. troops and other American personnel stationed throughout the country.
The attempted abduction, reportedly carried out by Turkish gang members whom the Islamic State enticed with a promise of $500,000, targeted a popular Syrian rebel commander who had crossed into Turkey seeking refuge from ongoing violence across the border, according to a report by theWashington Post. It was a close call for the commander, who was shot in the stomach before managing to escape — and the clearest indication yet that the Islamic State has established a potent network inside Turkey, the Post reported.
