WHAT MESSAGE MIGHT THIS SEND?

Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush, an air defense general captured Oct. 5 in a raid near the Syrian border, was being questioned Wednesday while in American custody in Qaim near the Syrian border when he lost consciousness after complaining he didn't feel well, the military said in a statement.

He was pronounced dead by a U.S. military physician. The cause of death and interrogation techniques are under investigation, but Mowhoush's head was not hooded during questioning, the 82nd Airborne said. The statement did not give his age.

Mowhoush, who served in the Republican Guard, was captured in a raid in Qaim. A U.S. military spokeswoman said at the time that Mowhoush was believed to have been financing attacks on U.S. forces.