Turkish anti-American activists assaulted three U.S. sailors on Wednesday in the capital Istanbul, near where the servicemen's ship was docked at a cove in the Bosphorus Strait, navy officials said.

The protesters, who bore Youth Association of Turkey banners and shouted, "Yankee, go home," angrily surged at the unsuspecting servicemen and threw red paint at them, the Associated Press relayed.

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One sailot tried to ignore the activists even as another worked to push back at the angry mob to no avail. At one point, some of the protesters had even managed to slip white plastic bags over the sailors' heads, according to footage of the incident uploaded on YouTube.

"Soldiers from the occupying country" have no right to walk around the neighborhood, said Melik Dibek, a spokesperson for the youth group. He said the reason the American ship had docked in the area was driven by U.S. interests in the Black and Mediterranian Seas.

"American imperialism is the reason why the Middle East has turned into a chamber of fire," he declared.

The sailors, who were not in uniform and were on shore leave at the time, were assigned to the missile warship USS Ross which was on port for a scheduled stop in Istanbul.

U.S. European Command spokesperson Capt. Greg Hicks said the servicemen had safely returned to the ship and were not hurt but that shore leave for the day had been cancelled.

A U.S. probe into the matter is underway, he added.

Local authorities later detained 12 individuals linked to the attack although no formal charges were filed as of Wednesday night.

The U.S. Embassy in Ankara denounced the attack on Twitter, calling it "appalling" and claimed that most Turks would condemn such an act that goes against the country's reputation of being hospitable.

Anti-American sentiment among Turks is not prevalent although there are some blocs that allege the U.S. of interfering in regional affairs.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry has likewise condemned the attack and described as "disrespectful" and intolerable.

A statement posted at the Turkish youth group's official website claims, the harassment was made in honor of Turkish martyrs "killed by imperialism."

TagsUS sailors, Turkey, Istanbul, Uss Ross, Youth association of Turkey, union, Turkish protest