Suitably Flip

Death Row Cole Bomber On the Loose

The presumed mastermind of the deadly USS Cole bombing, along with a dozen other convicted al Qaeda terrorists and 10 other prisoners, tunneled out of a Yemeni prison, triggering an "urgent global security alert".

Yemeni officials confirmed to Interpol that a man considered a mastermind of the Cole attack, identified as Jamal al-Badawi, was among those who escaped.

Al-Badawi was among those sentenced to death in September 2004 for plotting the USS Cole attack. Two suicide bombers blew up an explosives-laden boat next to the destroyer as it refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden on Oct. 12, 2000.

Another of the 23 escapees was identified as Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeiee, considered by Interpol to be one of those responsible for a 2002 attack on the French tanker Limburg off Yemen's coast.

According to the Interpol media release:

Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble personally ordered an Orange Notice to be issued after the Yemeni jail break because the escape and unknown whereabouts of Al Qaeda terrorists constituted a clear and present danger to all countries.

'Al Qaeda terrorists have been deemed a serious threat to the entire world community by the UN Security Council, by Interpol and by a wide range of countries,' Mr. Noble said. 'Their escape cannot be considered an internal problem for Yemen alone. Unless Interpol Red Notices are issued urgently for these fugitives and unless the world community commits itself to tracking them down, they will be able to travel internationally, to elude detection and to engage in future terrorist activity.'

The 2000 USS Cole bombing in Yemen's Aden Harbor killed 17 sailors and injured another 39.

Interpol is advising worldwide caution, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.  As the L.A. Times points out, these men are only militants.

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Death Row Cole Bomber On the Loose

The presumed mastermind of the deadly USS Cole bombing, along with a dozen other convicted al Qaeda terrorists and 10 other prisoners, tunneled out of a Yemeni prison, triggering an "urgent global security alert".

Yemeni officials confirmed to Interpol that a man considered a mastermind of the Cole attack, identified as Jamal al-Badawi, was among those who escaped.

Al-Badawi was among those sentenced to death in September 2004 for plotting the USS Cole attack. Two suicide bombers blew up an explosives-laden boat next to the destroyer as it refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden on Oct. 12, 2000.

Another of the 23 escapees was identified as Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeiee, considered by Interpol to be one of those responsible for a 2002 attack on the French tanker Limburg off Yemen's coast.

According to the Interpol media release:

Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble personally ordered an Orange Notice to be issued after the Yemeni jail break because the escape and unknown whereabouts of Al Qaeda terrorists constituted a clear and present danger to all countries.

'Al Qaeda terrorists have been deemed a serious threat to the entire world community by the UN Security Council, by Interpol and by a wide range of countries,' Mr. Noble said. 'Their escape cannot be considered an internal problem for Yemen alone. Unless Interpol Red Notices are issued urgently for these fugitives and unless the world community commits itself to tracking them down, they will be able to travel internationally, to elude detection and to engage in future terrorist activity.'

The 2000 USS Cole bombing in Yemen's Aden Harbor killed 17 sailors and injured another 39.

Interpol is advising worldwide caution, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.  As the L.A. Times points out, these men are only militants.