A United States marine who claimed to have been abducted by militants in Iraq last June has been charged with desertion.
Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun made the claim after turning up unharmed in Lebanon on 8 July, 19 days after he disappeared from his base near Fallujah.
After a five-month investigation, the US Marine Corps said Hassoun is alleged to have taken unauthorised leave of the unit where he served as an Arabic interpreter.
Hassoun was seen during his absence, in a videotape, apparently being held by militants, blindfolded with a sword poised over his head.
An Islamic militant Internet site said later he had been beheaded, but he subsequently showed up unharmed at the US embassy in Beirut.
