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Marine 'hostage' accused of desertion

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The U.S. military will file desertion charges against a Marine who disappeared in Iraq and then showed up in a purported hostage video, CNN reported.

Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, who later appeared as a free man in Lebanon, will also be charged by the Marine Corps with larceny and wrongful disposition of military property, Pentagon officials told CNN.

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The larceny charge stems from the disappearance of a 9 mm handgun that disappeared with him and never turned up, officials said.

When Hassoun last spoke with military investigators in September, he refused to divulge details of the events surrounding his disappearance, the report said.

The 24-year-old from West Jordan, Utah, will not be held in custody, because he is not considered a flight risk, officials said. He is currently at his home base in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

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