Free Republic

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraqi militants claimed in a Web statement Tuesday to have taken an American soldier hostage and threatened to behead him in 72 hours unless the Americans release Iraqi prisoners. The posting, on a Web site that frequently carried militants' statements, included a photo of what appeared to be an American soldier in desert fatigues seated with his hands tied behind his back. A gun barrel was pointed at his head, and he is seated in front of a black banner emblazoned with the Islamic profession of faith, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is...

WEST JORDAN, Utah — A Marine who was declared a deserter days before military court proceedings stemming from an earlier disappearance from Iraq has been placed on a list of "most wanted" fugitives. A mug shot of Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun appeared this week on a Navy criminal justice Web site, which claims the missing corporal now uses the alias "Jafar." His placement on the Navy list puts him among a select group of fugitives, some of whom are being hunted on allegations of terrorism, murder, conspiracy to commit murder, indecent assault and rape.

United Press International November 19, 2004 WASHINGTON - The U.S. Marines have reopened their investigation in Cpl. Wassef Hassoun, who went missing in June in Fallujah and turned up in Lebanon, CNN reports. The move was sparked when troops recently discovered several of his personal items, including his passport, military ID and uniform in Fallujah. Hassoun vanished June 20 and was listed as a deserter. His status was changed to captured after the release of a videotape that showed him blindfolded with a sword suspended over his head. A few days later, a posting to three Islamist Web sites claimed...

WEST JORDAN — Stunned and grieving family members tried to cope with the news Sunday that Wassef Hassoun, a Marine corporal, had been kidnapped by terrorists in Iraq who were threatening to behead him. Al-Jazeera, the Arabic news outlet, posted a view on its Web site of the kidnapped Marine and reported that a group called "The Islamic Retaliation Movement/Armed Resistance Wing" was threatening to behead Hassoun "if detainees in U.S.-led occupation prisons were not freed." They said they had captured him after infiltrating a U.S. military base in Iraq, according to Al-Jazeera. Pentagon spokesman Maj. Douglas Powell told the...