CNN: Family Reports US Marine Is Free And Safe

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CNN: Family Reports US Marine Is Free And Safe

James Joyner | Tuesday, July 6, 2004

From Alan at Command Post:

CNN TV just broke with this â¦ has the Marineâs brother on TV, saying they have a âsignâ that they canât discuss, but that Sami Hassoun is âfree and safe.â They donât know where he is, but the family is saying âhe is alive and he has been released.â The brother is in Tripoli, Lebanon at the moment.

CNN.com – BREAKING NEWS: American Marine Cpl. Wassef Hassoun, held hostage in Iraq, has been freed, his brother tells CNN. Details soon.

UPDATE: CNN — Brother: Captors have released kidnapped Marine

The brother of an American Marine who had been taken hostage in Iraq asserted Tuesday that his brother, Cpl. Wassef Hassoun, has been freed. Sami Hassoun, speaking to CNN from Tripoli, Lebanon, said there is clear “sign” that his brother is “alive” and has been “released.” However, Sami Hassoun would not elaborate on where he got his information or what specifically the sign was from his brother.

He said earlier reports that Cpl. Hassoun was beheaded in an execution was a shock, and the family gave each other comfort and prayed. “As soon as the first tape aired on [Arabic-language network] Al-Jazeera TV, we were shocked,” Sami Hassoun said. “It was like a never-ending nightmare. “He’s alive and he’s released and thank God for that. The sign came to us, we are sure of it.”

One can only imagine their nightmare. Let’s hope that the sign s are real.

About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.

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