A group of anti-American demonstrators attacked three US sailors whose warship, the missile-guided destroyer USS Ross, docked in Istanbul yesterday.
"We define you as murderers, as killers… and we want you to get out of our land," one of the demonstrators in the video said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The sailors fled to their ship without being injured.
After the video was circulated online, the Turkish Foreign Ministry released a statement condemning the attack, the New York Times said.
"[It is a] disrespectful act, which is in no way tolerable", a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
The US embassy in Turkey labelled the attack "appalling".
"While we respect the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression, we condemn today's attack in Istanbul, and have no doubt the vast majority of Turks would join us in rejecting an action that so disrespects Turkey's reputation for hospitality", the Embassy tweeted.
Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, promised to work with the Turkish authority to investigate the incident, the Washington Post reports.
Turkey is a member of the NATO and has long been a key US ally in the Middle East, but according to Reuters "anti-American sentiment runs deep in parts of society, particularly since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq".
-
‘The West needs people’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Filing statuses: What they are and how to choose one for your taxesThe Explainer Your status will determine how much you pay, plus the tax credits and deductions you can claim
-
Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency – an ‘engrossing’ exhibitionThe Week Recommends All 126 images from the American photographer’s ‘influential’ photobook have come to the UK for the first time
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
