Nice allies, eh?

ISTANBUL (AP) — Anti-American protesters shouting “Yankee, go home!” roughed up three U.S. Navy sailors Wednesday in Istanbul near where their warship was docked on an inlet of the Bosphorus Strait in the Black Sea.

About 10 protesters shouted at them, calling them killers and said they should leave Turkey. The protesters, who carried a banner of the Youth Association of Turkey, threw red paint at the sailors and briefly succeeded in putting white sacks over their heads.

The servicemen, who were not in uniform, were from the USS Ross, a guided-missile destroyer docked nearby, according to Capt. Greg Hicks, a spokesman for the U.S. European Command. He said they were not hurt and were safely back aboard the ship, but that shore leave for its sailors was canceled for the remainder of the day. The incident is being investigated by U.S. authorities, he said.

“Soldiers from the occupying country think they can walk around freely in Eminonu,” association spokesman Melik Dibek said, referring to the neighborhood where the incident occurred. “It’s obvious why they’ve anchored here —because of their ambitions in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. American imperialism is the reason why the Middle East has turned into a chamber of fire.”

Video HT: Anon