I N T H I S I S S U E
ERRI/EmergencyNet News Special Report
06 Feb 2006
Yemen Escapees Still At Large; Global
Security Alert Issued by Interpol;
Senior Al-Qaeda Operative Among Escapees
YEMEN; Interpol has issued a global security alert for 23 dangerous convicts, at
least 13 of them al-Qaeda linked, who broke out of a Yemeni jail on Friday. The
group includes one of the men said to be masterminds of the 2000 attack on the
destroyer USS Cole. Another was linked to an attack in 2002 on the French tanker
Limburg.
An Interpol statement said the escape presented a "clear and present danger to
all countries", and the alert was authorized personally by its chief. Secretary
General Ronald Noble said in the statement that the escape was not an internal
problem for Yemen alone, and urged the country to provide names, photos and
fingerprints of the escaped men.
"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," he said.
Investigators are looking into the possibility that as unnamed Yemeni
intelligence officers helped 23 al Qaeda prisoners -- including a militant
convicted in the 2000 USS Cole bombing -- escape from an underground prison
located beneath a heavily guarded security headquarters, officials said Monday.
The prisoners escaped Friday, apparently by digging a tunnel some 180 meters
long that emerged at a mosque, the security officials said.
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.
PROFILE: al-Badawi, Jamal Mohammad
Group: al-Qaeda
Role: Senior Member
Date of birth: July 22, 1960 or October 23,1960 or October 23,1963
Place of birth: Al-Shargian, Makiras, Yemen
Height: Approximately 5'5"
Weight: Approximately 175 pounds
Hair: Black
Eyes: Black
Sex: Male
Complexion: Olive
Characteristics: Al-Badawi has an olive complexion. He may have facial hair.
Aliases: Jamal Muhsin Al-Tali, Abu Abdul Rahman Al-Badawi, Abu Abdul Rahman Al-Adani,
Jamal Mohammad, Ahmad Ali Al-Badawi, Jamal Mohammad Ahmad
Photo: (See Right
Column)
Biography: Jamal Mohammad Al-Badawi is again wanted in connection with the
bombing of the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen.
On October 12, 2000 the US Navy destroyer USS Cole was in the Yemeni port of
Aden for refueling when a small boat that was helping the destroyer to moor
exploded (See below). The explosion created a 20 foot by 40 foot hole in the
side of the ship. Seventeen US Naval personnel were killed and thirty-nine
wounded in the attack.
Investigations suggested that members of al-Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Laden, were
behind the attack. Six Yemeni suspects were eventually identified, the most
senior of which was Jamal al-Badawi who told investigators that he received a
call from a man in the United Arab Emirates giving him instructions for the
bombing. Al-Badawi identified the man as Mohammed Omar al-Harazi. Other suspects
were identified as two police officials, Walid al-Sosurouri and Fatha Abdul
Rahman, who gave fake identification to the bombers. Yasser al-Azzani was also
jailed and Jamal Ba Khorsh was recruited to record the attack on videotape, but
did not. The final suspect arrested was Ahmad al-Shinni. The alleged mastermind
behind the attacks, Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, was arrested in Yemen after police
surrounded his home in November 2003. Another suspect, Rahim al-Nashiri, was
also arrested in 2002 and held in US custody.
Al-Badawi and nine other men escaped from a Yemeni prison in May 2003. Nearly a
year later, in March 2004, he and an associate were recaptured during a brief
shoot-out that left both of them injured.
The trial of al-Badawi and the other bombers began shortly after, on July 7,
2004. Al-Badawi was indicted for murder and conspiracy to murder United States
nationals and United States military personnel; conspiracy to use and using
weapon of mass destruction; damaging and destroying government properties and
defense facilities; and providing material support to terrorist organization.
The indictment also charged Jamal al-Badawi and Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso with
a failed attempt to bomb the USS The Sullivans ten months before the USS Cole
attack.
On September 29, 2004, a judge sentenced al-Badawi and al-Nashiri to death for
the attack, while the other men received jail terms. All the defendants appealed
their sentences. Following an appeal, the death sentence delivered against
Abd-al-Rahim al-Nashirir was upheld, but the death sentence of Jamal al-Badawi
was changed to fifteen years in prison. In February 2006, al-Badawi escaped from
prison again and his whereabouts are currently unknown. (Source: MIPT Database)
U.S.S.Cole Bombing Backgrounder
al-Qaeda attacked Maritime target (Oct. 12, 2000, Yemen)
Incident Date: Oct. 12, 2000
Terrorist Organization(s): al-Qaeda
City: Aden
Country/Area: Yemen
Region: Middle East / Persian Gulf
Target: Maritime
Tactic: Bombing
Suicide: Yes
Weapon: Explosives
Fatalities: 17
Injuries: 39
US Attack: Yes
US Fatalities: 17
US Injuries: 39
Attack Claimed: Yes
Coordinated: No
Description: A small boat that was helping the US Navy destroyer, USS Cole to
moor, exploded as the USS Cole was in the Yemen port of Aden for refueling.
According to witnesses, at least two men were seen on board the smaller ship
right before the explosion. The explosion created a 20 foot by 40 foot hole in
the side of the ship. Seventeen US Naval personnel were killed and thirty-nine
wounded in the attack. Investigations suggested that members of al-Qaeda, led by
Osama Bin Laden, was behind the attack.
Six Yemeni suspects were eventually identified, the most senior of which Jamal
al-Badawi (See Above), told
investigators that he received a call from a man in UAE giving him instructions
for the bombing. Al-Badawi identified the man as Mohammed Omar al-Harazi. Other
suspects were identified as two police officials Walid al-Sosurouri and Fatha
Abdul Rahman who gave fake identification to the bombers. Yasser al-Azzani was
also jailed and Jamal Ba Khorsh was recruited to video the attack, but did not.
The final suspect arrested was Ahmad al-Shinni.
The mastermind behind the attacks, Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, was arrested in
Yemen after police surrounded him home in November 2003. Another suspect, Rahim
al-Nashiri, was also arrested in 2002 and held in US custody. The trial of the
bombers began on July 7, 2004. On September 29, 2004, a judge sentenced al-Badawi
and al-Nashiri to death for the attack, while the other men received jail terms.
All the defendants had appealed their sentences. Following an appeal, the death
sentence delivered against
Abd-al-Rahim al-Nashirir was upheld, but the death sentence of Jamal al-Badawi
was changed to fifteen years in prison. The sentence of Mamoon Saeed Amsowah was
also reduced, from five to eight years. The other sentences (Fahd Al Qasa a, ten
years in prison, Ali Mohammad Saleh al-Murakab and Murad Saleh al-Serori (for
giving the bombers fake identification, five years each) were upheld.
(Source: RAND corp.)
| Featured
Original U.S.S. Cole Report from
ERRI/EmergencyNet News
|
|
"Series of EmergencyNet News "Real-Time"
Reports Concerning an Explosion Aboard the U.S.S. Cole in the Port of
Aden, Yemen -- 12 Oct to 20 June 2001" -- Can be found at:
http://www.emergency.com/2000/usscole-bomb.htm |
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