International   

`Kidnapped' Marine safe in Lebanon

BEIRUT (LEBANON), JULY 9. A U.S. Marine whose apparent kidnapping in Iraq was followed by conflicting claims — first that he was beheaded, then that he was alive — contacted U.S. authorities and was safe in his native Lebanon. The Navy was investigating whether his abduction could have been a hoax.

Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, reported missing from his base near the troubled city of Fallujah 18 days ago, arranged with American officials to pick him up Thursday afternoon in Beirut and bring him to the U.S. embassy, the U.S. State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, said in Washington.

At nearly the same time, a gunfight broke out between members of Cpl. Hassoun's clan in his home city of Tripoli and business rivals who called them American collaborators because Cpl. Hassoun joined the Marines. Two people were killed.

Cpl. Hassoun's elder brother, Sami, said on Friday that the family met the Marine at the U.S. embassy in north of Beirut late on Thursday. — AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• U.S. Senate slams intelligence agencies
• Dismantle wall, World Court tells Israel
• Sharon for nuclear-free West Asia
• An ominous phase in Sri Lanka
• Chirac condemns surge in racist attacks
• `Kidnapped' Marine safe in Lebanon
• Russia not to sell arms to Pakistan
• African Union to protect Darfur refugees
• Germany makes immigration easier for skilled workers
• Japanese heat wave kills seven
• U.S. asks Colombo, Tigers to halt violence
• Genocide conviction upheld
• France approves embryo research
• `Missing' U.S. Marine arrives in Germany
• World calls India, says Singapore Minister

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu