People | persian-gulf-war

People Involved in the USS Cole Terrorist Attack

There were many people involved in this attack. All those convicted in Yemen had either escaped from prison or had been freed by May of 2008. This operation was overseen by Osama bin Laden himself, and had had a failed trial run on another U.S. ship, the USS The Sullivans, on January 3, 2000, which is why this operation ran so smoothly for al Qaeda. They had had one failed attempt, and they knew what and what not to do in order to succeed this time.

Abd al-Rahim

al-Nashiri

Identified as the ringleader of the attack
Acted as operations chief for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Now held in a Guantanomo Bay detention camp

Fahd al Quso (L)

and

Jamal al Badawi (R)

Hired operatives of Osama bin Laden tasked with filming the attack
Arrested by Yemeni authorities in the first week after the attack occurred

Ibrahim al-Thawr

and

Abdullah al-Misawa

Identified as the suicide bombers of the attack

Abu Ali al-Harithi

Identified as the mastermind behind this operation
Killed in a missile strike in November 2002