Saturday, April 12, 2003
10 USS Cole suspects escape Yemeni jail
SANAA: Ten Yemenis suspected of involvement in the deadly October 2000 attack on the USS Cole escaped from a jail Friday in the southern port of Aden, local authorities said.
The men broke out of a window around 5:00 am (0200 GMT) and the jailers realized about an hour later that they were gone, said the officials, who requested anonymity.
Among those who escaped was Jamal Badawi, one of the principal suspects held over the attack, which killed 17 US sailors and was claimed by Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
Local officials said seven other suspects in the Cole case remained in prison.
Arriving at the jail after the escape, police found the bars cut over one of the windows and did not find any trace of the fugitives.
Authorities have launched a manhunt, distributing pictures of the fugitives to police posts around the Aden area. —AFP