Anxious wait for marine's family

There have been contradicting reports about Hassoun's fate

The family of a missing Lebanese-born US marine is still waiting to hear from him, despite reports that he has been freed by his kidnappers in Iraq.

The US embassy in Beirut said on Thursday it had "credible information" that Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun, 24, was safe in Lebanon.

But the embassy said it could not confirm the information.

Cpl Hassoun's disappearance has been mired in confusion - at one point he was reported to have been beheaded.

Earlier this week, Cpl Hassoun's brother said the family had received word that the militants had freed him.

But on Wednesday, the family spokesman in Utah, Tarek Nosseir, told reporters that "the family has not heard from Hassoun" since he went missing on 21 June.

'Fluid situation'

"We do not have confirmation of his location," the embassy's public affairs officer, Elizabeth Wharton, said.

"We have credible information that he is in Lebanon and safe but this is not confirmed. We certainly hope he is safe and that we can confirm it soon, but it is still a fluid situation."

A CNN report on Wednesday quoted a source close to Mr Hassoun's family as saying that the marine had contacted family members in West Jordan, Utah, and in Tripoli, Lebanon.

The source added that Mr Hassoun - who sounded healthy and happy - told his relatives that he had called the US embassy in Beirut, asking to be picked up from an undisclosed location in Lebanon.

Conflicting reports

On Saturday, an internet posting purporting to be from the militant group Ansar al-Sunna said Corporal Hassoun had been beheaded. But the organisation later denied the report.

The Arabic TV station al-Jazeera on Monday quoted an Iraqi group - Islamic Response - as saying that Cpl Hassoun had been moved to a safe place.

On Tuesday, the missing marine's family said they had been visited at their home in northern Lebanon by someone bringing reliable information that he was alive and free.

Mr Hassoun was born in Lebanon, educated at American schools there and then joined the US marines after moving to Utah four years ago.

The 24-year-old is fluent in Arabic, French and English and was reportedly serving as a translator in his second stint in Iraq when he was captured.