Social media video shows a group of men surrounding one US soldier and while violently constraining him. The Turkish men then stick a white bag over his head in an effort to humiliate and possibly kidnap the American and those with him. The brief clip then shows a couple more US troops jumping in to push the Turkish men off their fellow soldier. 

Reuters has confirmed of the incident, "A nationalist Turkish youth group on Monday physically assaulted two U.S. soldiers in western Turkey, the U.S. Embassy in Turkey and the local governor's office said, adding that 15 assailants had been detained over the incident."

The same report says that a total of five other US soldiers quickly came to their fellow servicemember's aid to fight off the attackers, after which local police quickly intervened.

The US Embassy in Turkey has subsequently confirmed the American personnel are safe after the incident, "We can confirm reports that U.S. service members embarked aboard the USS Wasp were the victims of an assault in Izmir today, and are now safe," it said on X. There was no mention of injuries.

The Izmir governor's office identified that the attackers were part of an ultra-nationalist group called the Turkey Youth Union (TGB), which is associated with the opposition Vatan Party. The statement said that the Turkish group "physically attacked" two American soldiers who were in civilian clothes in the Konak district.

The assaulting group reportedly chanted "Yankee, go home!" while detaining at least one of the Americans. It all happened in broad daylight. 

The UK Mirror details of the USS Wasp's weekend port call:

The USS Wasp arrived in the port of Izmir on Sunday for a scheduled visit, with sailors and marines taken on tours organised by the ship's Morale, Welfare, and Recreation team during while it is docked. Previously on a scheduled deployment to Europe, the Wasp was recently sent to the Mediterranean and Middle East amid rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel along the border with Lebanon, and had made a stop in Turkey. It marked the first time that the Wasp had operated in the Mediterranean region since being moved back from Sasebo, Japan to Norfolk, Virginia in 2019.