SANTIAGO. - A sailor native of this city whose tour of duty in Iraq had lasted more than six months was found dead with one gunshot to the head Tuesday dawn, in a confusing case now under investigation.

Nelson Lantigua, who was found by his companions around 2:30 a.m., face down in bed in the military facility he was assigned to, is the third Dominican native to die in Iraq, after U.S. Army soldiers Alex Jimenez and José E. Concepción Ulloa.

The Marine, 21, recently enlisted in U.S. Navy, was born in nearby Los Cocos, and the only son of Maria de los Angeles Lantigua, with whom he had lived with in Miami since he was seven.

The victim’s aunt, Arelis Torres, Wednesday morning said she didn’t have further details on her nephew’s death, and were officially notified yesterday afternoon, when two United States embassy officials visited her sister.

She said the Marine had spent almost seven months in Iraq and that was scheduled to conclude his tour this month, when he immediately planned to work in Miami’s Immigration Office.

Torres said her nephew got married in that Florida city just weeks before heading off for Iraq, and the last time he visited Los Cocos around eight months ago was to say goodbye to relatives and friends.

She added that Lantigua will be buried in the local cemetery, after his body is brought home at the end of next week.