Flashback in history: Terrorist attack on USS Cole on 12 October 2000

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USS Cole (DDG-67) is a guided missile-equipped destroyer homeported in Norfolk. While on patrol duty in the Indian Ocean, Cole entered the port of Aden, Yemen for routine refueling on 12 October 2000. Several hours later, while refueling was underway, a small craft approached the port side amidships. As the small craft made contact with Cole’s hull, it exploded, creating a large hole (about 40 feet in diameter) in the side of the destroyer. The explosion killed 17 sailors and injured another 39. The destroyer was severely damaged, but returned to Norfolk on the heavy-lift ship Blue Marlin. USS Cole returned to service on 29 November 2003. The Al Qaeda terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack.

FILE -- This Sunday Oct. 15, 2000 file photo shows investigators in a speed boat examining the hull of the USS Cole at the Yemeni port of Aden, after a powerful explosion ripped a hole in the U.S Navy destroyer. Jurors should know how the government plans to execute the Guantanamo detainee accused of orchestrating the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole if heÂ’s convicted of a capital offense, his lawyer argued at a pretrial hearing Tuesday at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. Prosecutors countered that any execution method specified before the trial of Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri could be changed during the lengthy appeals process that would follow his sentencing, so jurors donÂ’t need to know. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis, File)
Note: This Sunday Oct. 15, 2000 file photo shows investigators in a speed boat examining the hull of the USS Cole at the Yemeni port of Aden, after a powerful explosion ripped a hole in the U.S Navy destroyer. Jurors should know how the government plans to execute the Guantanamo detainee accused of orchestrating the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole if heÂ’s convicted of a capital offense, his lawyer argued at a pretrial hearing Tuesday at the U.S. naval base in Cuba. Prosecutors countered that any execution method specified before the trial of Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri could be changed during the lengthy appeals process that would follow his sentencing, so jurors donÂ’t need to know. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis, File)
mv_blue_marlin_carrying_uss_cole
The M/V BlueMarlin carrying USS COLE towards repairs.

 

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