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U.S. Airstrike Kills Terrorist Behind USS Cole Bombing

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A U.S. military airstrike on New Year’s Day reportedly killed Jamal al-Badawi, who helped orchestrate the October 2000 bombing of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67), officials said.

“We are aware of reports that Jamal al-Badawi was killed in a strike in Yemen,” Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a U.S. Central Command spokesman, said in an email to USNI News. “U.S. forces conducted a precision strike Jan. 1st in the Marib governate, Yemen, targeting Jamal al-Badawi, a legacy al Qaeda operative in Yemen involved in the USS Cole bombing.” . . .

On Oct. 12, 2000, Cole was refueling at the Yemeni port of Aden when two al Qaeda terrorists brought an inflatable Zodiac-type speedboat alongside the destroyer’s port side and detonated a bomb onboard, according to the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command.

The explosion blew a 40-foot wide hole in Cole and killed 17 sailors. The crew was able to save the ship. The Navy transported the ship to Pascagoula, Miss., for extensive repairs. . .

A federal grand jury in 2003 indicted al-Badawi and co-conspirator Fahd al-Quso with 50 counts of terrorism-related offenses related to the Cole bombing and an attempted January 2000 attack on USS The Sullivans (DDG-68). The U.S. government issued a $5-million reward for information leading to al-Badawi’s capture, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. (Read more from “U.S. Airstrike Kills Terrorist Behind USS Cole Bombing” HERE)

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US Airstrike ‘Likely’ Killed Al Qaeda Leader in Libya

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The U.S. military launched an airstrike that targeted and “likely” killed the Al Qaeda leader behind the attack on a gas plant in Algeria in 2013 that killed 35 hostages, including three Americans, a senior defense official told Fox News Sunday.

Libyan government and U.S. officials say warplanes targeted Mokhtar BelMokhtar and several others in the eastern city of Ajdabiya. The U.S. filed terrorism charges against BelMokhtar last year in connection with the Algeria attack. Officials have said they believe he remained a threat to U.S. and Western interests.

The Libyan government in a statement said that the strike came after consultation with the U.S. so that America could take action against a terror leader there.

One government official in Libya said an airstrike in Ajdabiya hit a group believed to be affiliated with Ansar al-Shariah, and that it killed five and injured more. He said the group that was injured got into clashes with the Libyan military that guarded the hospital there, leading to hours of fighting. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters . . .

The charges filed against Belmokhtar by federal law enforcement officials in Manhattan included conspiring to support Al Qaeda and use of a weapon of mass destruction. Additional charges of conspiring to take hostages and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence carry a maximum penalty of death. (Read more from “US Airstrike ‘Likely’ Killed Al Qaeda Leader in Libya” HERE)

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