- WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- A
Lebanese-born U.S. Marine who disappeared in Iraq and was thought to have
been taken hostage has arrived safe and in good health at the American
Embassy in Beirut, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
-
- Wassef Ali Hassoun has been missing from his unit since
June 21, and at one point was reported on a Web site to have been killed.
-
- "He is at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. He
is safe. He appears to be healthy. We're working through the details of
what the next steps are," said a U.S. defense official at the Pentagon,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
-
- State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Hassoun
has been at the embassy since about 11 a.m. EDT.
-
- "We were able to go get him this morning,"
Boucher said, "He made contact with us."
-
- The Marine was picked up in Beirut, Boucher added.
-
- At least one person was killed and several were wounded
Thursday when a gunbattle erupted near the home of Hassoun. Members of
his family traded fire with another family who taunted them by referring
to Hassoun and his family as U.S. agents, they said.
-
- Hassoun had been missing from his unit since June 21,
and at one point was reported on a Web site to have been killed by militants
holding him hostage.
-
- The area of northern Lebanon where Hassoun's family lives
is a stronghold of deeply religious Sunni Muslims with strong clan ties.
Blood feuds among rival families are not uncommon.
-
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