This guy belongs to the same mosque as the Utah shooter. Small world isn't it?
Hassoun attended an American school in Lebanon. He speaks fluent French. Hassoun is originally from Al-Safira but lived in Tripoli until he emigrated in the early 1990s to the United States, where he gained citizenship. Wassef moved to the Salt Lake City area and joined the Marines after moving there. He attends the Al-Noor Mosque in Salt Lake City when he is home.
pownetwork.org
A military probe concluded Hassoun had abandoned his post. He was charged with desertion in December, and once again in January 2005 after he failed to report back to base. He has since been declared a fugitive.
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US marine declared deserter again
BBC
A US marine charged with desertion from his unit in Iraq has again been declared a deserter after he failed to return from leave to his US base.
The decision was taken after Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun, who was born in Lebanon, failed to show up at his North Carolina base, a spokesman there said.
After disappearing in Iraq last year, Cpr Hassoun mysteriously reappeared in Lebanon, saying he had been abducted.
There were indications that he went to Lebanon again, the spokesman said.
Warrant issued
There was huge public and media interest when Cpl Hassoun disappeared from his unit in Iraq in June.
There was the dramatic video footage of him blindfolded and apparently kidnapped, the BBC's Pentagon correspondent Nick Childs says.
Cpl Hassoun reappeared in Lebanon 19 days after he went missing - and when he was returned to the United States, he maintained that he had been abducted.
But after an investigation, he faced prospect of a court martial after the US Marines charged him with desertion, our correspondent says.
In the new twist, Cpl Hassoun failed to report for duty on Tuesday following an authorised holiday, said Maj Matt Morgan, a marine spokesman at Camp Jejeune-based 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade.
"The Marine Corps did contact his family when he initially failed to show up yesterday [Tuesday]. They were not able to provide any information that was helpful," the spokesman said.
He added that Cpl Hassoun was still missing on Wednesday afternoon, and "his command officially declared him a deserter and issued authorisation for civil authorities to apprehend Hassoun and return him to military control".
Story from BBC NEWS:
news.bbc.co.uk
Published: 2005/01/06 01:48:03 GMT |
