Marine charged with desertion again

RALEIGH -- The Marine charged with desertion after he claimed to have been kidnapped last year in Iraq was again declared a deserter Wednesday after he failed to return from a holiday leave.

Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun was required to return to Camp Lejeune by noon Tuesday but did not report for duty in a motor pool, said Maj. Matt Morgan, a spokesman for the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

Hassoun was still missing at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Morgan said.

Hassoun's command "officially declared him a deserter and issued authorization for civil authorities to apprehend Hassoun and return him to military control," Morgan said.

TEXAS

Iraqi civilian testifies in drowning trial

FORT HOOD -- An Iraqi civilian testified Wednesday that he and his cousin were forced at gunpoint into the murky Tigris River and that U.S. soldiers laughed while the two struggled against the current.

Marwan Fadel Hassoun said he struggled to shore and tried to save his 19-year-old cousin by grabbing his hand, but the powerful waters swept Zaidoun Fadel Hassoun to his death.

"He was calling my name, said: 'Help me! Help me!' " Marwan Hassoun testified through an interpreter on the second day of the military trial for Army Sgt. 1st Class Tracy Perkins, 33.

Perkins and Army 1st Lt. Jack Saville, 24, are charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, obstruction of justice and lying to investigators.

The judge Wednesday dropped a conspiracy charge against Perkins, who could be sentenced to up to 26 years in prison if convicted of all remaining counts. Saville, who still faces a conspiracy charge, faces up to 29 years.

PUERTO RICO

U.S. military command to open investigation into abuse allegations at Guantanamo

SAN JUAN -- The U.S. military command that runs the prison for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has opened an investigation into allegations of prisoner abuse outlined in recently released FBI documents, officials said Wednesday.

But human rights groups on Wednesday called for an independent investigation into abuse at Guantanamo where 550 detainees from nearly 40 countries are accused of links to Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime or al-Qaida terror network.

"Although more transparency is always welcome we're way past the point where internal inquiries can be considered sufficient," said Alistair Hodgett, a spokesman for London-based Amnesty International.