Turkish police detained 11 people in the south-western resort town of Bodrum late on Sunday after they protested the presence of American sailors in the town on leave from the 'USS The Sullivans' destroyer.
Quoting police, the Anatolia news agency reported that the sailors were on shore leave after the warship docked at Bodrum port on Sunday night. As they were shopping and touring the streets of Bodrum, a group protested their presence. Police intervened and detained 11 people for holding an illegal protest.
Some 100 U.S. Marines then returned to the ship under heavy security. The ship is expected to leave Bodrum on Tuesday.
The Sullivans, which operates in the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, anchored at Bodrum as part of a radar system mission. The 198-meter-long warship with 296 personnel on board is an 'Aegis' class guided missile destroyer. The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System is a program developed to provide defense against ballistic missiles, reports said.
The ship called at the port days after 50 U.S. soldiers were sent to a radar base in Turky's eastern province of Malatya, which is a crucial part of the NATO's anti-missile defense system, the report added.
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