Beirut, Lebanon ? The family of Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun said Tuesday they had received word that the Lebanese-born U.S. Marine — who was kidnapped in Iraq and at one point was reported beheaded — was free and well.

A Lebanese government official also said Hassoun was released, though his whereabouts were unknown. The kidnappers freed the 24-year-old Marine after he pledged not to return to the U.S. military, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The two statements were positive signals for Hassoun’s relatives in Lebanon and the United States, who have seen their hopes rise and plummet amid contradictory Internet messages by Iraqi militants over the Marine’s fate.

The U.S. military initially said Hassoun was absent without authorization since June 20. They later said he was “captured.”

Hassoun’s brother in the north Lebanese city of Tripoli said Tuesday he was confident his brother was free, although he has not spoken to him.

“We have received reliable information the guy is free,” Sami Hassoun told The Associated Press. “We received a sign from my brother reassuring us.”

Sami Hassoun said the family had received credible information from a person who came to their Tripoli home. The person, whom he did not identify, did not say where the Marine was, Sami Hassoun said.

Another insurgent group on Tuesday said it had kidnapped an Egyptian truck driver, releasing a video to the Al-Jazeera television station. The group calls itself the “Iraqi Legitimate Resistance.” The man identified himself as Alsayeid Mohammed Alsayeid Algarabawi. He was captured while driving a fuel truck for U.S. forces from Saudi Arabia, the group said.

Other militant groups have captured and threatened to behead other foreign Muslim hostages, creating an uproar among many Muslims, including other militants. All the captured Muslims aside from Hassoun have been released unharmed.