Fox News is reporting that an Islamic website says Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun, who disappeared in Iraq under unclear circumstances, has been executed by his terrorist kidnappers.
Press coverage will follow apace, and links to the inevitable video.
UPDATE: Here's the first AP dispatch.
An Iraqi militant group claimed on a Web site Saturday that it has beheaded a captive U.S. Marine.The group, called the Ansar al-Sunna Army, posted a written statement on an Islamic web site claiming that it had killed Lebanese-born Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun.
"We would like to inform you that the Marine of Lebanese descent has been killed, and you will soon see the movie with your own eyes," said the statement, signed in the name of the group's leader, Abu Abdullah al-Hassan bin Mahmoud.
The U.S. military in Baghdad said they were checking into the report of Hassoun's death but had no comment or confirmation for the moment.
The Reuters story includes a quote with perhaps new information.
"Your soldier had romantic relations with an Arab girl and he was lured away from his base," the statement said.
Perhaps this unfortunate AWOL Marine wasn't a deserter, but was in fact caught in a ruthless honey trap.
Jeff at Backcountry Conservative is watching the story closely.
UPDATE: Now the evildoers are arguing among themselves and the fate of Cpl. Hassoun is uncertain.
An Islamic extremist group denied in a statement posted on its Web site Sunday that it had killed a U.S. Marine taken hostage last month.Posted by Alan at July 3, 2004 12:13 PMThe denial by the Ansar al-Sunna Army left the fate of Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun unclear. The group said it had no connection to a statement in its name put out on other Web sites claiming Hassoun's slaying -- leaving open the possibility that the Marine was killed by another group or that he was still alive.