Several hundred terrorist sympathizers stormed a military base where U.S. troops were housed in Turkey Sunday, cause Turkish police to use tear gas and a water cannon to diffuse the potentially violent crowd just ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to Reuters.
The incident reportedly occurred outside the Incirlik Air Base in Southern Turkey. The base has, for several years, been used as a staging base for the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. U.S. troops are housed at the base, as well as troops of other nationalities who are also supporting the fight against ISIS.
The protests were organized by the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation. The IHH pretends to be a humanitarian organization, but it has been credibly accused of funding the terrorist organization Hamas, and has been banned from entering Israel since 2008 on that basis. The IHH was a key player in the Gaza flotilla incident.
According to Reuters, the terrorist sympathizers at the “protest” were seen “hurling plastic chairs, rocks, and other items at police, who fired smoke bombs at crowds.” The “protesters” were reportedly carrying Turkish and Palestinian flags.
Representatives from IHH addressed the crowd and attempted to dissuade them from throwing things at the police, assuring the crowd that the police would be fighting alongside Hamas terrorists if they were allowed, saying, “Friends, it is wrong to throw rocks or do similar things because both the police and soldiers would want to go to Gaza and fight and they will go when the time comes.”
Ultimately the crowd was dispersed when IHH organizers called it off due to conflicts with the police.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to visit Sunday as part of a series of talks with Middle East leaders regarding Israel’s efforts to combat Hamas terrorism. No United States troops were reportedly injured during the incident.
