|
Yemen Reveals True Identity Of Mastermind Behind Deadly USS Cole Blast
SANAA, Feb 1 (News Agencies) - The mastermind behind the deadly suicide bombing of the USS Cole has been identified as Abdul Rahman al-Saafani, a Yemeni who fled abroad under an assumed name, a police source said Thursday.
"The mastermind of the attack is in fact Abdul Rahman Hussein Mohammad al-Saafani, carrier of passport number 414187," the source said.
"Saafani left Yemen a month before the attack after having supervised all phases" up until then, said the source close to the investigation into the October 12th blast that left 17 U.S. sailors dead and 38 others injured.
Yemeni authorities had earlier announced they were searching for a Yemeni named Mohammad Omar al-Harazi, from Saf'an, 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Sanaa, as the kingpin of the group behind the attack on the U.S. naval destroyer in Aden.
"Yemeni investigators have cleared up most details of the attack, which was prepared three years in advance," the source said, adding that "one of the two men who carried out the attack, Hassan Said Qwadh al-Khamiri, had a false identity card since 1997."
The second attacker has still not been identified, according to the police source, who said the investigation was "in its final phase".
But a trial originally set for the end of January has been delayed indefinitely, as Yemeni investigators traveled to the United States and Germany as part of broadening enquiries into the blast of the multi-billion-dollar warship.
Interior Minister Hussein Arab said on January 4th that 16 suspects had been rounded up.
Police have since arrested a Yemeni deemed a prime suspect, who implicated Osama bin Laden in the Cole bombing.
Bin Laden, a Saudi-born millionaire, is charged by the United States with masterminding the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa that killed more than 220 people.
|
