A US Marine whose apparent kidnapping in Iraq was followed by conflicting claims – first that he was beheaded, then that he was alive – contacted US authorities and is now safe in his native Lebanon.

A US Marine reported missing in Iraq more than two weeks ago is alive and at the US Embassy in Beirut, where American officials are meeting with him.

The disappearance of a US marine who was feared to have been kidnapped by extremists in Iraq could be a hoax.