'Kidnapped' US marine flown to Germany

A US marine who turned up in Beirut after being missing for 18 days from his base in Iraq was being flown to Germany today for debriefing and examination in a US military hospital.

Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun, reported missing from his base near the troubled city of Fallujah, arranged with American officials to pick him up yesterday afternoon in Beirut and take him to the US Embassy.

He was expected to be brought to Landstuhl Regional Medical Centre, Berlin, in the evening and stay for several days, said hospital spokeswoman Marie Shaw.

“He’s going to undergo debriefing and evaluation,” she said.

While the 24-year-old was missing, various conflicting reports emerged about Hassoun – first that he was beheaded, then that he was alive.

Arab television on June 27 showed a videotape of him with his eyes covered by a white blindfold and a sword hanging over his head.

In the latest twist to Hassoun’s story, there was speculation he might have deserted his base and headed to Lebanon when he was abducted. The Navy was investigating whether the entire kidnapping might have been part of a hoax.

Hassoun’s older brother, Sami, said today that the family met the marine at the US Embassy in north of Beirut late last night.

“We went there last night and saw him. We said goodbye to him and came back home. They (embassy officials) told us he will leave Lebanon today,” Sami Hassoun said, without giving further details.

An embassy spokeswoman in Lebanon, Elizabeth Wharton, said Hassoun was still in the embassy but referred further questions about him to the Pentagon.

Hassoun’s other brother, Mohamad, said yesterday in front of his house in West Jordan, Utah, that he had spoken briefly with him by phone, but could not offer any details about his disappearance and refused comment on the hoax question.

“He sounded OK. I was told that he has lost some weight, but he is well,” he said.

A spokesman for the Bahrain-based US Navy’s 5th Fleet said the “whole matter is under investigation by Naval Criminal Investigative Service” and referred further questions to Washington.

It was unclear how Hassoun, who had been working as a translator in Iraq, reached Lebanon and how he made contact with American officials. Wharton, the embassy spokeswoman, said the Marine arrived at the fortified embassy, located in a hilly Beirut suburb, accompanied by relatives.