'Urgent Global Security Alert' Issued for Him and 22 Others

LYON, France (Feb. 5) -- A man considered a mastermind of the USS Cole bombing that killed 17 sailors in a Yemeni port in 2000 was among 23 people who escaped from a Yemen prison last week, Interpol said Sunday.

The international police agency issued an "urgent global security alert" for those who escaped Friday from the prison via a tunnel. It called the escapees "dangerous individuals."

A Yemen security official announced the escape of convicted al-Qaida members Friday but did not provide details.

Interpol said in a statement that at least 13 of the 23 escapees were convicted al-Qaida fighters, who escaped via a 140-yard-long tunnel "dug by the prisoners and co-conspirators outside."

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.

Another of the 23 escapees was identified as Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeiee, considered by Interpol to be one of those responsible for a 2002 attack on the French tanker Limburg off Yemen's coast. That attack killed a Bulgarian crew member and spilled 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Aden.

Interpol's urgent global security alert, known as an "orange notice," was issued by agency Secretary General Ronald Noble "because the escape and unknown whereabouts of al-Qaida terrorists constituted a clear and present danger to all countries," the statement said.

Noble urged Yemen -- the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden -- to provide names, photographs, fingerprints and other information about the suspects.

A Yemen security official said on condition of anonymity Friday that the 23 escapees had fled a prison in the capital, San'a, that he described as a military intelligence detention center. The official said only that the escapees had all had been sentenced last year on terrorism-related charges.

The escape came a day before the expected start of a trial of 15 people charged with involvement in terror operations in Yemen, including Mohammed Hamdi al-Ahdal, who is suspected of masterminding the Cole bombing and the 2002 bombing of the Limburg.

The trial was postponed indefinitely.

Yemen was long a haven for Islamic militants. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the government sided with the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

Who the hell was guarding these assholes....a pack of monkeys??

lovely... why weren't they executed promptly?

Quoted: lovely... why weren't they executed promptly?

.......Because too many people around the world think they can be turned into usefull humans.........................Look at the Saddam trial for more info on this.

Dupe...

www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=434277

Makes me want to go on a hunting expedition in Yemen, shoot them all until I get the right one.

Sorry about the duplication....I'm usually on top of things like that

Someone I went through middle school with got killed in that attack

-Foxxz

If his arms and legs had been amputated along with removing his eyes, inner ears, jaw and tongue he would have had a harder time escaping.

Maybe we dug a tunnel so we could take him?

I don't believe for a minute that he escaped.. It was a prisoner exchange or some other form of cooperating with the terrorists. I don't know where he's being held, but you can for samn sure bet that someone that high in profile was ALLOWED to leave.

Should have sent him to paradise.  Paradise Pig Farm, that is, with 72 virgin pigs ready to feed upon him.

This what the 87th escape from a YEMNI "HIGH SECURITY' prison? Is it made out of cheese? WTF

Why on earth was he not in US custody in the first place?

They can run like stuck pigs, but they cannot hide.  I was there 13th MEUSOC (USS Tarawa LHA-1) until the USS Cole was taken away in the floating Drydock.  If anything the runnig fools will lead us to more fish.  

Quoted: Why on earth was he not in US custody in the first place?

Clinton didn't want offend the Yemenis

Thats right, he could have be rehabilitated...... yeah sure

Quoted: fools will lead us to more fish.

I hope the CIA has its act together on this one! This is a golden opportunity to shadow the escaped terrorists for a follow-up Predator strike or SOF takedown.

THe news only reports the faults of the CIA, the real gems are not declassified and we will never know about them.  This guy is a small fish in the grand scheme of things, but you can bet that a satelite or opperator is watching his every move in his new found and hopefully short lived "freedom"

BTW, hit my poll y'all! ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=435026 I want to see the results when given multiple choices. Thanks.