Posted on 07/05/2004 2:56:23 PM PDT by An Old Man
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi Islamist group said it had moved an abducted U.S. marine to "safety" on Monday after he pledged to leave the military, raising hopes for the fate of a man who had previously been reported as beheaded.
Dubai-based Al Jazeera television said the announcement came in a statement from the Islamic Response Movement, the same group it reported on June 27 as claiming to have abducted Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun and threatening to kill him.
Hassoun's relatives in Lebanon said the same statement had been faxed to them.
Battling militants blamed for kidnappings and bombings, the U.S. military launched an air strike on what it said was an Islamic guerrilla safe house in the Iraqi city of Falluja, killing at least five people. Neighbors said they were members of a family with no connections to extremist groups.
The Islamic Response Movement did not say where Lebanese-born Hassoun had been taken, only that he had been moved to a "place of safety," Al Jazeera said.
"First we were told he had been slaughtered, then this was denied, and now all we can do is wait," Hassoun's brother, Sami, told reporters at the family home in Tripoli, north Lebanon.
Reports of Hassoun's fate conflicted wildly over the weekend after statements posted on Islamist Web sites attributed to another Islamist group -- the Army of Ansar al-Sunna -- said he had been decapitated, then that he was still alive.
Eight days ago Al Jazeera showed a brief video of a blindfolded man dressed in camouflage sitting in a chair with a hand holding a sword above his head. A Marine Corps identity card identified him as Hassoun.
Al Jazeera quoted the Islamic Response Movement as saying it had kidnapped a U.S. marine after luring him from his base. The U.S. military, which says Hassoun has been absent from his unit since June 21, had no immediate comment.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Semper Fi
When can the Red Cross see this prisoner of war and make sure that he is not being mistreated?
Well, at least one on-duty American will find out where Saddam hid the weapons of mass destruction. Alas, that would meen that the ultra-left wing, neocommunist media and the kerrorists would never permit him to return alive.
Your statement is absolutely revolting . I am as suspicious of the "religion of peace" as anyone but whoever puts on the uniform and fights for us is my hero .Any shred of proof that he is not a loyal marine ???? You need to get a life partner.
The latest reports of him being "safe" and heading to rejoin his relatives in Lebanon does not look good for his reputation as a loyal American
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