Washington: Jamal al-Badawi, the top al-Qaeda leader responsible for the deadly USS Cole bombing in 2000 in which 17 American sailors were killed, has died in US airstrikes in Yemen, the Pentagon said. Seventeen US sailors lost their lives and at least 40 others injured in the terrorist attack on the US Navy guided-missile destroyer on October 12, 2000, while it was being refuelled in Yemen’s Aden harbour. Badawi, a “legacy al-Qaeda operative in Yemen” involved in the USS Cole bombing, was wanted by the US for his role in the attack. A reward of USD 5 million was announced for information leading to his arrest. He was in his mid 50s
Spokesman of the US Central Command Capt Bill Urban said: “Jamal al-Badawi was killed in a precision strike in Marib governate on January 1”. “US forces confirmed the results of the strike following a deliberate assessment process,” Urban said. President Donald Trump praised the US military for “delivering justice for the heroes lost and wounded in the cowardly attack on the USS Cole”.
“We have just killed the leader of that attack, Jamal al-Badawi. Our work against al-Qaeda continues. We will never stop in our fight against Radical Islamic Terrorism!” the president said. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2003, charged with 50 counts of various terrorism offenses, including murder of US nationals and murder of US military personnel. Badawi was also charged with attempting with co-conspirators to attack a US Navy vessel in January 2000.