June 28 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. military command in Iraq said a Marine is missing from his unit shortly after al-Jazeera television broadcast a videotape purportedly showing a U.S. soldier being held hostage.

Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun has been missing from his unit since June 21, according to a coalition spokesman in Baghdad, who asked not to be identified. An investigation couldn't confirm media reports Hassoun had been taken hostage, the spokesman said.

Al-Jazeera broadcast a videotape yesterday showing a blindfolded man in military fatigues holding a Marine Corps identity card with Hassoun's name on it.

The tape said an Iraqi group called the Islamic Response Movement kidnapped the serviceman after luring him from a U.S. base, the New York Times reported. The group said the man would be killed unless all Iraqi prisoners are released.

Al Arabiya television earlier broadcast a videotape of gunmen saying they captured a Pakistani who worked for a U.S. military contractor, the newspaper said. The group said the man would be beheaded in three days unless Iraqi prisoners are freed, the report said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joshua Fellman in Hong Kong at jfellman@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 27, 2004 21:19 EDT