6 Suspects in Cole Attack Charged in Yemeni Court

A security court Wednesday charged six alleged members of the Al Qaeda terrorist network with plotting the attack on the U.S. destroyer Cole, opening the first trial in the suicide bombing that killed 17 American sailors. Among the defendants was reputed mastermind Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, who was charged in absentia.

Police and soldiers cordoned off the security court in Sana, the Yemeni capital, and marksmen watched from rooftops as five of the defendants were brought in to hear the judge read their indictment. Al Nashiri is in U.S. custody.

The attack occurred in October 2000 when two suicide bombers brought a small boat alongside the destroyer as it refueled in Aden harbor. The bombers detonated explosives stashed on the boat, killing themselves and the 17 sailors, and blasting a huge hole in the ship’s hull.

The United States announced Al Nashiri’s arrest in 2002. He was detained in the United Arab Emirates and transferred to American custody. U.S. officials believe that the Saudi-born Al Nashiri is a close associate of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

In addition to the Cole attack, Al Nashiri is suspected of helping direct the deadly 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Yemeni officials have said they have asked the U.S. to hand over Al Nashiri.

The other five defendants, all Yemenis, are Jamal Mohammed Ahmad Ali Badawi, Maamoun Msouh, Fahd Mohammed Ahmed Quso, Ali Mohammed Saleh and Murad Sirouri. They refused to enter pleas Wednesday and asked the judge to grant them access to lawyers.

The judge, who approved their request, said they were charged with belonging to Al Qaeda, forming an armed gang with the purpose of carrying out crimes against the state, resisting authorities and forging documents.

The jurist named the two suicide bombers for the first time -- Ibrahim Thawr and Abdullah Misawa, both Yemenis. He said some members of the group that planned the attack had met in Afghanistan, formerly an Al Qaeda stronghold.