Marine who disappeared from Iraq unit will be tried for desertion

Marine who disappeared from Iraq unit will be tried for desertion
(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A U.S. Marine who vanished from his unit in Iraq will be tried on desertion charges, the U.S. military announced Friday.

Cpl. Wassef Hassoun, 34, was in Lebanon for eight years after disappearing from his Fallujah, Iraq, unit in 2004. Roughly a week after his disappearance, a photo of Hassoun with a sword above his head was allegedly released by rebels. Hassoun, a U.S. citizen who grew up in Lebanon, told the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon that he was kidnapped by extremists, but the military doubted his story, The Associated Press reports.

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Meghan DeMaria

Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.