Al Qaeda Claims to Have a Marine Hostage
Sunday, June 27, 2004
There is no confirmation yet as to the veracity of the claim as of 4:45PM CST. Fox News is reporting that the Marine may have been lured out of his camp by Al Qaeda.
Captors Say Marine, Pakistani Held in IraqUpdate 7PM CST:
By CHRIS TOMLINSON, Associated Press WriterBAGHDAD, Iraq - Arab television broadcast videotape Sunday of two hostages said to be of Pakistani origin, one of them a blindfolded U.S. Marine militants claimed to have lured from his base and taken captive. Insurgents threatened to behead them both...
AP updated the above story: ...The U.S. military confirmed that a Marine named Wassef Ali Hassoun had been missing from his unit for nearly a week. It said it was unclear if he had been taken hostage, but Hassoun's name was on a Marine "active duty" identification card shown by militants in the videotape aired by the Al-Jazeera network....Marine Corporal Hassoun may be from Utah.
Update 06-28-04: Update from Atlanta TV WSB.
Military: Kidnapped Marine May Have Been Going To Lebanon
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Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said the military is working under the assumption that the Marine has been kidnapped -- but he indicates that hasn't been confirmed.Kimmitt said the Marine had gone on an "unauthorized absence" around June 21 -- and that officials suspect he may have been heading to Lebanon. The general didn't give more details...