WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- The Marine corporal who went missing from Iraq in June and later turned up in Beirut has been declared fit for duty, the Marine Corps said Tuesday.
He is likely to be interviewed for the first time Tuesday by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service about his mysterious disappearance and reappearance, Marine Corps spokesman Maj. Matt Morgan told UPI.
Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun claims he was kidnapped by Iraqis from his military base. Al Jazeera broadcast a video of Hassoun blindfolded and being held by armed captors on June 27, eight days after he disappeared. The news channel reported on July 3 he had been beheaded. By July 8, however, Hassoun had been picked up by U.S. Embassy officials in Lebanon.
Hassoun was repatriated to the United States where he has undergone a battery of medical and psychological tests and debriefings.
"He's at home in Camp LeJeune (N.C.) with his unit," said Morgan. "He has been declared fit for duty."
As such, Hassoun is eligible to be deployed back to Iraq in the future, Morgan said.
