Missing Marine Hassoun a hoax?

[Sparrowhawk]

July 7: Pentagon officials say the Navy has launched a criminal investigation into whether the disappearance of a Marine in Iraq is a kidnapping hoax. NBC's Jim Miklaszewski reports.

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Video/040707/nn_mik_marine_040707.275w.jpg



Missing Marine mystery deepens
Pentagon investigates whether kidnapping
in Iraq is a hoax

By Jim Miklaszewski
Correspondent
NBC News
Updated: 7:52 p.m. ET July 07, 2004The strange disappearance of Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, reportedly kidnapped in Iraq nearly three weeks ago, grows even more mysterious.


Senior Pentagon officials tell NBC News, a man claiming to be Hassoun, called his family in Lebanon and the U.S. embassy in Beirut, saying he was — "released by his kidnappers somewhere in Lebanon" and that he was "waiting to be picked up."

But in Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell said U.S. officials remain in the dark. "We have received reports that he may be in contact with various individuals and there are other reports that he might be in Lebanon. But we cannot confirm any of these at this time," said Powell.

Late Wednesday, FBI agents showed up at the Hassoun family home in West Jordan, Utah. And Pentagon officials tell NBC News that the Navy has now launched a criminal investigation into Hassoun's disappearance, and the possibility that his kidnapping may be part of an elaborate hoax.

Few clues since disappearance in June
Hassoun disappeared from his Marine unit on June 20. He showed up a week later in a hostage-style video, with a sword held over his head and his alleged captors threatening to kill him. Terrorist experts say, however, the group said to have held Hassoun is unknown.

"We don't know whether this group is simply an Internet address. ... We don't know if they were simply fabricated. We have no idea what's going on here," says terrorism expert Steve Emerson.

A second group later claimed Hassoun was beheaded — then retracted that claim. Pending the investigation, military officials refuse to say Hassoun's kidnapping was a hoax, but they point out he had reportedly talked openly about leaving his Marine unit to join his family in Lebanon. Whether he was kidnapped and then released along the way remains a mystery.

© 2004 MSNBC Interactive

[CMyr]

Could be that he set this all up with his contacts. If he really wanted to disappear in Lebanon, that would be the way. Don't think the Lebanese would turn him over. Will have to wait until all the government red tape unravels. Either way, he's chucked his eagle, globe, and anchor, fer sure.

[thedrifter]

Utah family disputes claims that missing Marine corporal has been released

By: PAUL FOY - Associated Press

WEST JORDAN, Utah -- The brother of a Marine who was reported captured in Iraq denied reports Wednesday that he had been released and contacted family members, but a U.S. official said there was reason to believe the corporal was in his native Lebanon.

"I hope we hear from him, but so far, nothing," his brother, Mohamad Hassoun, told The Associated Press.

CNN reported Wednesday that Wassef Ali Hassoun, 24, had been in touch with his family in Utah and Lebanon, telling them he had contacted the U.S. Embassy in Beirut and asked to be picked up at an undisclosed location in Lebanon.


When asked about the supposed call from Hassoun, his brother in Lebanon, Sami Hassoun, said: "We have nothing to say."

A U.S. official, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity, refused to confirm the CNN report, saying only that there was reason to believe Hassoun was in Lebanon. The official did not elaborate.

Another senior U.S. official said the embassy in Beirut has received a report that Hassoun is safe in Lebanon, but officials have not been able to confirm it.

"We haven't been able to determine his whereabouts or get in touch with him," the official said.

Asked about an NBC report that the Navy is investigating whether Hassoun's disappearance may be part of a kidnapping hoax, a Marine spokesman said the Navy investigation remains open.

"I don't think they're ruling that out. It would be fair to say they're not ruling that out," said Maj. Nat Fahy.

The Marines said Hassoun disappeared June 20 from Iraq on "unauthorized leave," but changed his status to "captured" after he turned up June 27 on television blindfolded with a sword hanging over his head.

A militant group claiming to be the Ansar al-Sunna Army said on a Web site Saturday that it had beheaded the Marine. But the group said Sunday it did not issue the statement, and a posting on another Internet site said Hassoun was alive.

An Iraqi militant group said Monday it was holding the Muslim in a safe place but had not killed him. Al-Jazeera television broadcast the statement from "Islamic Response," which claimed responsibility June 27 for Hassoun's kidnapping.

Two FBI agents met with the Hassoun family for about 20 minutes Wednesday. The agents were not there to deliver any news to the family, but instead were sent to determine where the family was getting its information about Hassoun's whereabouts, Agent Kelly Kleinvachter said.

Secretary of State Colin Powell was asked at a news conference earlier Wednesday whether the missing Marine had been in contact with the embassy.

"We have received reports he may be in contact with various individuals," Powell said. "There are other reports he may be in Lebanon. I can't confirm any of these."

State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said Wednesday he could not confirm reports that the Marine had been in touch with the embassy.

"There are reports that say he is safe and healthy. I would not deny that," Ereli said.

Associated Press Diplomatic Writer Barry Schweid contributed to this report.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/07/08/military/21_40_407_7_04.txt


Ellie

[enviro]

If this turns out to be the case, remember who predicted it first right here on Leatherneck.com.

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15448&perpage=15&pagenumber=3

[Sparrowhawk]

Originally posted by enviro

There is one exception that I might agree with you on this subject. It's a scenario that will have to see it played out before we ever believe it. Goes like this:

Cpl Houssan did desert with the aid of his muslim homo brothers and they have faked this huge kidnapping scheme to make him disappear.

This scenario is possible since we haven't ever heard of the terrorist group that has him and we haven't heard from them since.




Good one, should have placed a bet down...

It seems like the guy wanted to disappear but then changed his mind.
Too many kinfolks and too much money to have to give up. Besides he figured we would find out. either way, this guy, it seems is a no. 1 scumbag.

Something wasn't right, right from the beginning. Here is a guy who could have used his talents to the greatest benefit of himself, his family, the Corps and our country, but self was more important, now, self is worthless to himself and everyone else. No one will ever trust him again.

He is capable of anything to save his own skin. Where is he now?

This calling the U.S. embassy in Beirut and telling them, here I am come and get me, is bull****.


<hr>

What now?

What should be done about him?

[Sparrowhawk]

<hr>

Recap of the events leading to where we are today.


A Lebanese Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hassoun "is with his parents" in northern Lebanon.


<hr>


U.S.: Missing Marine May Be in Lebanon
Jul 8, 9:04 AM (ET)

By BASSEM MROUE
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TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AP) - The U.S. Embassy said Thursday it has "credible information" that a missing U.S. Marine is in his native Lebanon, and the military said it was investigating the possibility his disappearance was a hoax.

There have been several contradictory reports about the fate of Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun since he disappeared in Iraq on June 20.

An Iraqi militant group said Monday it was holding the 24-year-old Muslim in a safe place but hadn't killed him. Al-Jazeera television broadcast the statement from "Islamic Response," which claimed responsibility June 27 for Hassoun's kidnapping.

Elizabeth Wharton, public affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, said the embassy had "credible information" that Hassoun was in the country and safe, but she could not confirm it.

"We're working on confirmation of that," Wharton told The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, NBC reported the Navy was investigating whether Hassoun's disappearance may be part of a kidnapping hoax. A Marine spokesman confirmed the Navy investigation remains open.

"I don't think they're ruling that out. It would be fair to say they're not ruling that out," Maj. Nat Fahy said.

The inquiry by Navy Criminal Investigative Service was still being treated as missing person investigation, he said.

On Saturday, a statement posted on a Web site known for extremist Muslim comment said Hassoun had been beheaded. A day later, another Web statement declared he had not been killed.

Reports emerged he might have been freed after his family in West Jordan, Utah, said Tuesday they had word that he had been released and was safe, but they didn't know where.

A Lebanese Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hassoun "is with his parents" in northern Lebanon.

But journalists gathered outside the family's Tripoli home saw no sign of Hassoun's reunion with his relatives.

Hassoun's brother, Sami, refused to confirm or deny the information when reached by the AP for comment.

On Tuesday, he said someone had visited the family in northern Lebanon and told them his brother was free and well. A Lebanese government official said Wednesday the kidnappers released Hassoun after he pledged he would not return to the U.S. military.

Two FBI agents met with the Hassoun family in Utah for about 20 minutes Wednesday. The agents were not there to deliver any news to the family, but instead were sent to determine where the family was getting its information about Hassoun's whereabouts, agent Kelly Kleinvachter said.

Secretary of State Colin Powell was asked whether the Hassoun had been in contact with the embassy.

"We have received reports he may be in contact with various individuals," Powell said. "There are other reports he may be in Lebanon. I can't confirm any of these."

The Marines said Hassoun disappeared on "unauthorized leave," but changed his status to "captured" after he turned up June 27 on television blindfolded with a sword hanging over his head.

Some of those claiming to be the captors have said he was romantically involved with an Arab woman and was lured away from his Marine base and captured. There also were reports that Hassoun, who was educated at American schools in Lebanon before moving to Utah and joining the Marines, might have been trying to get to Lebanon when he was captured.

Some reports also have said Hassoun fled his camp near the restive Iraqi city of Fallujah after seeing one of his colleagues killed by a mortar shell; others indicated he was lured out and captured.

Wharton denied reports that Hassoun has been staying at the U.S. Embassy since returning to Lebanon, telling the AP: "We have no confirmation of his location whatsoever. ... We do not have any confirmation at this point of his location or whether he is in fact in Lebanon."

No overt signs of joy or preparations to welcome Hassoun could be seen at the family residence, an apartment on the second floor of a six-story building in the low-income Abu Samra district of Lebanon's second-largest city.

For Hassoun to make his way to Lebanon from Iraq, about 500 miles away, he would have to travel through Syria, which borders Iraq's western Anbar province, where his unit, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, is based. Hassoun worked as a translator.

The United States has accused Syria of not doing enough to prevent militants from infiltrating its border to Iraq to fight U.S. and allied forces.

Syria is the main power broker in Lebanon, where it keeps thousands of troops. There are no direct flights from Iraq, and another possible route, through U.S.-allied Jordan, is unlikely because he could end up with the Americans.

A senior U.S. military officer has said the media has been a major source of information about Hassoun, adding that he hasn't contacted the military since he was announced released.

[Namvet67]

He has to pay the price...He "was" a Marine and he left his brothers and he can not just walk away from this. We have to believe the Corps will not let us down and do the right thing. They have to!!!! I knew something wasn't right on my orginal post...Just looking at the picture of him did not set right with me. In the mean time I'm just gonna stay ****ed off. Semper Fi

[enviro]

I gotta say if there was ever a time when a Marine has lost his title (or basically just given it up willingly) this is the case.

And everyone around here knows I'm not one for stripping the title "Marine" from anyone. This guy just may be my one exception.

[USMC-FO]

I have to say this is a very puzzeling event....It is easy to speculate lots of different senarios, all of which have an easy ring of truth or possibility attached to them. Bottom line, until all of this unravels we're all dealing in lots of guess work.

If, however, this turns out to be a set up and a deseration then I would certainly support a very strong Corp response to this Cpl's actions.

Also, if this is all planned set up and "bug out" then from my point of view just further supports my feeling that we, as a nationand a people, clearly have a huge problem with the Muslim religion both inside and outside the US that we, in my mind, still seem reluctant to deal with.

[Sparrowhawk]

Originally posted by USMC-FO

Also, if this is all planned set up and "bug out" then from my point of view just further supports my feeling that we, as a nation and a people, clearly have a huge problem with the Muslim religion both inside and outside the US that we, in my mind, still seem reluctant to deal with.

One thing for sure, we can not seek to be politically correct in dealing with this problem.

It used to be that people came to America to be Americans, now they come here become citizens and still want America, but want America o conform to their way of life, their religion, customs and laws.

[cjwright90]

So if he is "picked up" by the US Embasy, he is goverment property once again, right? BIG Chicken Dinner, reducetion in rank, fines out eh wazoo and some hard time. Thinking about some of my earlier posts on him, dessertion in time of war is a capital offense, but since Congress did not declare war, he might not be eligable.

[Sparrowhawk]

drum him out of the Corps...

Did the Corps ever do that?

[USMC-FO]

"Why can't we just
drum him out of the Corps...

Did the Corps ever do that"......

Hell, Cook you know they did !!....I once participated--in formation and taking it all in--- in the process. Again I say if this IS a deseration then I'd want some hard time done first and then the boot.

Further your comment about being "politically correct" and dealing with the Muslim problem in the US and the World I agree you absolutely CAN NOT deal with the problem AND be PC too.

The number one problem in the world today is this whacko group of fanatics--SUPPORTED--by a religous belief structure which supports and encourages murder and mayhem for anyone who thinks even slightly different than themselves. And frankly the collective thinking, as I see it, of that religion pretty much hit the year 1000 and felt that was about as far as anyone needed to go.

Primitive is the adjective I always liked !!

[Namvet67]

Drum him out...I've seen it. Ain't pretty !

[thedrifter]

Missing Marine at U.S. Embassy in Beirut

TRIPOLI, Lebanon — The U.S. Marine who was feared kidnapped by terrorists in Iraq has turned up safe and in good health at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, the Pentagon said Thursday.

Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun (search), a native of Lebanon, has been missing for more than two weeks and officials are now investigating whether his alleged abduction was a hoax.

An Iraqi militant group said Monday it was holding the 24-year-old Muslim in a safe place but hadn't killed him. Al-Jazeera television broadcast the statement from "Islamic Response," which claimed responsibility June 27 for Hassoun's kidnapping.

Before he showed up safe and alive, a Marine spokesman said that the Navy investigation into Hassoun remains open.

"I don't think they're ruling that out. It would be fair to say they're not ruling that out," Maj. Nat Fahy said.

The investigation by the Navy Criminal Investigative Service (search) was still being treated as missing person investigation, he said.

The investigation by the Navy Criminal Investigative Service (search) was still being treated as missing person investigation, he said.

On Saturday, a statement posted on a Web site known for extremist Muslim commentary said Hassoun, a Lebanese-born Muslim, had been beheaded. A day later, another Web statement declared the Marine had not been killed.

Reports emerged that he might have been freed after his family in West Jordan, Utah, said Tuesday that they had had word that he had been released and was safe, but they didn't know where.

A Lebanese Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hassoun "is with his parents" in northern Lebanon.

But journalists gathered outside the family's Tripoli home saw no sign of Hassoun's reunion with his relatives.

Hassoun's brother, Sami, refused to confirm or deny the information when reached by the AP for comment. "I have no time. I have no time," he said before hanging up the phone.

On Tuesday, Sami Hassoun said someone had visited the family in northern Lebanon and told them his brother was free and well. A Lebanese government official on Wednesday said the kidnappers released Hassoun after he pledged he would not return to the U.S. military.

Two FBI agents met with the Hassoun family in the United States for about 20 minutes Wednesday afternoon. The agents were not there to deliver any news to the family, but instead were sent to determine where the family was getting its information about Hassoun's whereabouts, agent Kelly Kleinvachter said.

Secretary of State Colin Powell was asked at a news conference earlier Wednesday whether the missing Marine had been in contact with the embassy.

"We have received reports he may be in contact with various individuals," Powell said. "There are other reports he may be in Lebanon. I can't confirm any of these."

The Marines said Hassoun disappeared June 20 on "unauthorized leave," but changed his status to "captured" after he turned up June 27 on television blindfolded with a sword hanging over his head.

On Tuesday a Lebanese government official said Hassoun had been released, but his whereabouts were unknown. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the kidnappers freed Hassoun after he pledged not to return to the U.S. military.

Some of those claiming to be the captors have said he was romantically involved with an Arab woman and was lured away from his Marine base and captured. There also were reports that he might have been trying to get to Lebanon when he was captured.

Denying media reports that Hassoun has been staying at the American Embassy since returning to Lebanon, Wharton told the AP: "We have no confirmation of his location whatsoever ... We do not have any confirmation at this point of his location or whether he is in fact in Lebanon."

There were no overt signs of joy or preparations to welcome the Marine at the family residence, an apartment on the second floor of a six-story building in the low-income Abu Samra district of Lebanon's second-largest city.

On Tuesday, Sami Hassoun told AP that someone visited the family in northern Lebanon and told them his brother was free and well. A Lebanese government official on Wednesday said the kidnappers released Hassoun after he pledged he would not return to the U.S. military.

For Hassoun to make his way to Lebanon from Iraq, about 500 miles away, he would have to travel by land through Syria, which borders Iraq's western Anbar province, where Hassoun's unit, the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, is based. Hassoun worked as a translator.

The United States has accused Syria of not doing enough to prevent militants from infiltrating its border to Iraq to fight U.S. and allied forces.

Syria is the main power broker in Lebanon, where it keeps thousands of troops. There are no direct flights from Lebanon to Iraq and another possible route, through U.S.-allied Jordan, is unlikely because he could end up with the Americans.

A senior U.S. military officer has said the media has been a major source of information for the Americans about the missing Marine, adding that Hassoun hasn't contacted the military since he was announced released.

Some media reports have said Hassoun, who was educated at American schools in Lebanon before joining the Marines after moving to Utah, fled his military camp near the restive Iraqi city of Fallujah after seeing one of his colleagues killed by a mortar shell, while others indicated he was lured out and captured.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,125084,00.html


Ellie

[Sgt Sostand]

If its a Set up he should be shot

[thedrifter]

Wassef Ali Hassoun: Polite, loyal, smitten by California girl and his homeland
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday July 08, 2004
By ROBERT TANNER
AP National Writer

Visiting a club packed with California girls, he was smitten by a teen with a T-shirt that declared her love for Lebanon. At an American pizza shop near his Marine base, Wassef Ali Hassoun's favorite pie was made with zaatar, a Middle Eastern herb.

Now the Marine corporal with a deep affection for his native land is caught up in a tangled story in which the latest twist is his safe arrival Thursday at the U.S. embassy in Beirut, 18 days after he went missing from Iraq.

Friends and relatives testify to his warmth, loyalty and politeness though his immediate family has said little. The silence has left more questions than answers about the 24-year-old translator who at one point was reported slain by captors.

``He's a really, really nice guy, a very genuine person. The whole aura about him is very respectful,'' said Nichole Merzi, an 18-year-old southern Californian who caught Hassoun's eye at a club last winter.

While pursuing her, the Marine was embraced by her entire family.

The news about Hassoun has been contradictory and confusing. An Islamic militant group said he had been abducted and threatened with execution, then that he had been beheaded and then announced that he had not. Military sources told news organizations he may have deserted, or been lured away from his base and then betrayed, and then raised the possibility that the entire kidnapping could be a hoax.

The story of his life before Iraq is only slightly clearer.

Born and raised in Lebanon during its civil war in the 1980s, he came to the United States in the late '90s and joined family, including at least one brother, in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Jordan, according to Judy Hassoun, the ex-wife of an older brother. A member of the Hassoun clan in Tripoli, Lebanon, said the same.( TES (Tripoli Evangelical School) for Girls and Boys was established by the Presbyterian Missionaries in 1873).

Before coming to the America, he studied at the Evangelical School of Tripoli and later learned translation at a technical school.

Hassoun attended the 2000 summer and fall sessions of Salt Lake Community College. In 2002, he joined the Marines as a motor vehicle operator, though he worked as a translator. He has become a U.S. citizen, the Marines say.

Judy Hassoun, who was married to Hassoun's older brother until 1998, said she remembered him as ``very brave, very loving,'' and a good student who ``always wanted to get good grades.'' She now lives in Texas and hasn't seen her former brother-in-law for five years.

A distant cousin in Tripoli, Abdullah Hassoun, said that Wassef Ali Hassoun had been married in Lebanon several months ago, though Wassef wasn't present his father stood in for him to sign the marriage contract, which is allowed in Islam. And a neighbor in Tripoli said he married an American woman two years ago, but they divorced.

But for the Merzi family in Oceanside, Calif., near San Diego, the man whose picture they've pasted up on the wall of their pizza place poses no mystery.

Hassoun became part of a group of Arabic-speaking Marines who frequented their pizza shop, Spanky's, during a few months last winter when they were stationed nearby before the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force went back to Iraq.

The shop and the family that ran it offered a comforting taste of home, especially when the father, a native of Lebanon, made pizza with zaatar a mix of green herbs in an echo of a favorite Lebanese snack.

``All of them were like, 'Thank you, we haven't eaten this since our mothers made it!''' said Michele Lisi-Merzi, whose love for Marines was homegrown her father was a staff sergeant, and she spent 10 years as a girl living at Camp Pendleton.

Hassoun stood out from the group because of his shy yet insistent courtship of Nichole Merzi.

The two met at a nearby club she asked him to dance and then he tracked her down. When he wanted a date, he followed the traditions of his homeland.

``I've never gone out with a guy who asked my parents before me to go out on a date,'' Nichole said. ``I was like, `What?''' Still, she just thought it was funny and they went out for dinner at an Italian place, talking mostly about soccer and Lebanon, she said.

That was their only date ``solo,'' Nichole said. But he spent lots of time at Spanky's, hanging around after hours talking. He also helped with the move when Nichole went off to college at California State University, Northridge.

The mother said Hassoun made it clear he wanted to marry Nichole. Michele explained that, in America, it's not up to the parents, though she and her husband encouraged Hassoun to continue his friendship with their daughter. He kept up an e-mail correspondence with Nichole while he was in Iraq.

The Merzis were horrified at what happened to their friend overseas, especially what they saw as his vilification in news reports. ``Deserter? What happened to POW? What happened to missing Marine?'' Michele said.

Now that he's free and safe, the family was sure the truth of Hassoun's loyalty and bravery would be seen clearly.

``I just remember how strong he was mentally,'' Michele said. ``He saved a lot of boys' lives because he spoke Arabic.'


Ellie

[Sparrowhawk]

Hassoun studied at the Evangelical School of Tripoli, but is a practicing Muslim.

While in San Diego he made it clear he wanted to marry Nichole an American girl, but he was married during that time to another American woman , but since then divorced.

Then while deployed he married another women several months ago but was not there for the wedding so his father stood in for him to sign the marriage contract,

meanwhile while he was deserting...

a gunfight broke out between members of Hassoun's clan in his home city of Tripoli and business rivals ...

I knows this story will be making the front page of the Enquier by tomorrow morning. A movie contract, is in the works, Hollywood can't even think of this type of story line..

[Osotogary]

Do they allow substitute (stand-in) husbands in absenteeum? That would be an interesting gig. Not that I would ever do that but.....somebody else? Who knows. LOL

[Sparrowhawk]

Marine who went missing in Iraq now on full duty at Camp LejeuneBy ASSOCIATED PRESSCAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.USA - A Marine who was reported abducted in Iraq and later turned up in his native Lebanon was restored Tuesday to full duty, the military said.

Medical authorities at Camp Lejeune, where Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun has been since July, declared him fit for full duty late Monday, allowing him to return to the brigade motor pool where he worked before he deployed to Iraq in February.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service continues to look into Hassoun's disappearance, according to officials from the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

Hassoun, 24, failed to report for duty June 20, and videotape later surfaced showing him apparently kidnapped, blindfolded with a sword hanging over his head.

He later turned up at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut. It remains unclear how he traveled from Iraq to Lebanon.








http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15624&highlight=missing+marine


http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15594&highlight=missing+marine

[ALSEUT]

Well Nobody in the Corps will ever trust him and he has lost his integrity. He betrayed the Brotherhood.

[hrscowboy]

I say drum him out of the corps and send his ass home to his rag head country..

[Sparrowhawk]

Then we see on the surface. Why hasn't this Marine been charged? <br />
<br />
Since his release from the so-called terrorist that &quot;kidnapped him,&quot; they have beheaded other Americans, even Iraq, and Lebanon...

[Sparrowhawk]

A cover-up or was he talking too much?


Monday, September 27, 2004 · Last updated 3:47 p.m. PT

Lebanon's top al-Qaida operative dies

By HUSSEIN DAKROUB
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- The alleged top al-Qaida operative in Lebanon who was captured in a security operation that broke up a terrorist network died of a heart attack Monday, hospital and security officials said.

Ismail Mohammed al-Khatib, who was in his early 50s, was hospitalized in the morning after suffering a cardiac arrest, but died from a second attack in the afternoon, said officials at Bahanes Hospital, 18 miles outside Beirut.

An Interior Ministry statement said al-Khatib suffered from "a breathing problem" on Sept. 21 and was treated by a doctor and given the "appropriate medication." His sickness recurred Monday after which he died of a "massive" heart attack, the statement said.

Al-Khatib was one of two top operatives of al-Qaida's organization captured by Lebanese authorities Sept. 17 along with 10 other suspects. The other one was Ahmed Salim Mikati.

At the time of the arrest, Lebanon's top prosecutor called al-Khatib "the head of al-Qaida organization in Lebanon" and said he and Mikati were planning simultaneous bombings of the Italian and Ukrainian embassies in Beirut. Both countries are part of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq. They also allegedly planned to assassinate employees in Western embassies in Lebanon and wanted to attack Lebanese security and judicial targets.



Al-Khatib was also suspected of trying to recruit fundamentalists to carry out attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq. Mikati had been in contact with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian who is the most wanted militant in Iraq, to arrange recruitment, officials said.

Shortly after news of al-Khatib's death spread, about 300 residents of his hometown of Majdal Anjar in eastern Lebanon's Bekaa Valley staged a demonstration.

Protesters briefly blocked the highway linking the Lebanese capital of Beirut with Syria's capital, Damascus, near the Masnaa border point, witnesses said.

The demonstrators smashed windows of shops in the area, the witnesses said. Lebanese and Syrian troops deployed in the area and reopened the road late Monday.

Prosecutor-General Adnan Addoum said Mikati was behind other crimes in Lebanon, including an attack on a McDonald's restaurant in Beirut in April 2003, as well as attacks on U.S. and British interests last year. Mikati has been condemned to death in absentia by a Lebanese military court.