The incident prompted immediate backlash in Washington as U.S. officials decried the attack on American troops.
“We are troubled by this assault on U.S. service members and are appreciative that Turkish police are taking this matter seriously and holding those responsible accountable,” said White House national security spokesperson Sean Savett in a statement.
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the two Marines are safe after they were rescued by fellow troops from the USS Wasp amphibious assault ship, which is deployed to the Middle East amid high tensions in the region following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
They were taken to the hospital but were not injured, Ryder told reporters Tuesday.
“This is clearly a troubling incident,” Ryder added.
At least 15 people have been arrested by Turkish authorities after the attack.
The Turkish Youth Union, a nationalistic organization affiliated with the country’s the Patriotic Party, has long been anti-American.
They have staged similar attacks in the past, including a 2021 assault that also saw them place a hood over a U.S. servicemember’s head.
In the Monday incident, which took place in the Turkish city of Izmir, a Marine cried out for help as he was pushed around by several people.
The group said in a post on X that the U.S. military was “stained with the blood of our brave soldiers and thousands of Palestinians” and called for it to leave Turkey.
Turkey is a NATO ally and key U.S. partner, but its president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has warmer relations with Russia than Western partners, and he is also one of the most vocal opponents of Israel’s war against Hamas.
Nikki Haley, who unsuccessfully ran to be the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, said the attack “cannot happen to members of our military without Turkey having to answer for it.”
“The Marines are to be commended for their calm response in what was an unacceptable act,” she said in a post on X. “They deserve better.”
