Ten suspects in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole have escaped from prison in Yemen. The 10 fugitives, including chief suspect Jamal al-Badawi, were jailed in the port city of Aden shortly after the destroyer was bombed, killing 17 American sailors. Officials would not say how the men escaped, but they said security forces were out in force in the city’s streets in a major search operation. Photographs of the men were sent to police and intelligence agents and the houses of the escaped men’s relatives were being searched. The October 12, 2000, attack was blamed on Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror network. Yemen, bin Laden’s ancestral home, has been a hotbed of terrorist activity. Al-Badawi allegedly helped buy the dinghy used by the two suicide bombers, who rammed the destroyer as it was refuelling in Aden. Full Story
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