Editing USS Cole bombing (section)

==Attack==
[[File:Defense.gov News Photo 001012-N-0000N-001.jpg|thumb|right|USS ''Cole'' after the attack]]
On the morning of Thursday, 12 October 2000, ''Cole'', under the command of [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] [[Kirk Lippold]], docked in Aden harbor for a routine fuel stop. ''Cole'' completed mooring at 9:30 and began refueling at 10:30. Around 11:18 local time (08:18 [[UTC]]), a small [[fiberglass]] boat carrying [[C-4 (explosive)|C4]] explosives and two suicide bombers approached the port side of the destroyer and exploded,<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=H7fT0BQxwDsC&pg=PA353 |title= Encyclopedia of Terrorism |first1= Cindy C. |last1= Combs |first2= Martin W. |last2= Slann |publisher= [[Infobase Publishing]] |year= 2009 |isbn= 9781438110196 |page= 353 }}</ref> creating a {{convert|40|by|60|ft|adj=on}} gash in the ship's port side, according to the memorial plate to those who lost their lives. Former [[CIA]] intelligence officer Robert Finke said the blast appeared to be caused by C4 explosives molded into a [[shaped charge]] against the hull of the boat.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0010/18/bp.00.html | work=CNN | access-date=27 May 2010 | title=Burden of Proof | archive-date=16 January 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116191154/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0010/18/bp.00.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> More than {{convert|1000|lbs}} of explosive were used.<ref name="Guardian Bomb Type">{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/aug/21/alqaida.iraq |title=Bomb type and tactics point to al-Qaida |last= Whitaker|first=Brian |date=21 August 2003<!-- 09.00 BST -->|work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=11 July 2009 | location=London}}</ref> Much of the blast entered a mechanical space below the ship's [[Galley (kitchen)|galley]], violently pushing up the deck, thereby killing crew members who were lining up for lunch.<ref name=Cosmopolitan010901>{{cite magazine | title='I Survived a Terrorist Attack': Jennifer Kudrik talks about the attack on the USS ''Cole'' | magazine=[[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]] | date=1 September 2001 }}</ref> The crew fought flooding in the engineering spaces and had the damage under control after three days. Divers inspected the hull and determined that the [[keel]] had not been damaged.

The sailors injured in the explosion were taken to the [[United States Army]]'s [[Landstuhl Regional Medical Center]] near [[Ramstein Air Base|Ramstein]], Germany, before being sent to the United States. The attack was the deadliest against a U.S. naval vessel since an Iraqi aircraft's attack on {{USS|Stark|FFG-31|6}} on 17 May 1987. The [[asymmetric warfare]] attack was organized and directed by the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.{{refn|<ref name=CNN-05-15>{{cite news | url =http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/05/15/cole.bombing.charges/index.html | title=Yemeni pair charged in USS Cole bombing | website=[[Cable News Network]] | date=15 May 2003 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20030602143447/http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/05/15/cole.bombing.charges/index.html | archive-date = 2 June 2003 }}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071028060628/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/26/terror/main3414029.shtml Yemen Frees USS Cole Bomb Plotter. Al-Qaeda Mastermind Of 2000 Attack On Ship Pardoned After Turning Himself In]. Associated Press. SAN'A, Yemen, 26 October 2007.</ref><ref>GlobalSecurity.org. [http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/uss_cole_bombing.htm USS Cole bombing]. Page maintained by John Lumpkin – Senior Fellow, GlobalSecurity.org.</ref><ref>GlobalSecurity.org. [http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/profiles/generate_group_activities.php?name=Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda Activities].</ref>}} In June 2001, an Al-Qaeda recruitment video featuring [[Osama bin Laden]] boasted about the attack and encouraged similar attacks.<ref>CNN. [http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/06/21/video.binladen/ Video shows bin Laden urging Muslims to prepare for fighting] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706185720/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/06/21/video.binladen/ |date=6 July 2008 }}. 21 June 2001.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-claim-for-the-cole/|title=A Claim For The Cole|date=20 June 2001|work=CBS|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020404184414/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/06/20/world/main297600.shtml|archive-date=April 4, 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=80896&page=1|title=Video Offers Strong Bin Laden-USS Cole Link|work=ABC News|date=June 19, 2001}}</ref>

Al-Qaeda had previously attempted a similar but less publicized attack on the U.S. Navy destroyer {{USS|The Sullivans|DDG-68|6}} while in port at Aden on 3 January 2000, as a part of the [[2000 millennium attack plots]]. The plan was to load a boat full of explosives and detonate them near ''The Sullivans''. However, the boat was so overladen that it sank, forcing the attack to be abandoned.<ref name="Terrorism">[https://www.fbi.gov/publications/terror/terror2000_2001.htm Terrorism 2000/2001]. [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]. [[United States Government Printing Office]] 2004–306-694.</ref><ref name=Piszkiewicz2003>{{Cite book | last = Piszkiewicz | first = Dennis | year = 2003 | title = Terrorism's war with America : a history | page = [https://archive.org/details/terrorismswarwit00denn/page/123 123] | isbn = 978-0-275-97952-2 | publisher = Praeger | location = Westport, Conn. | url = https://archive.org/details/terrorismswarwit00denn/page/123 }}</ref>

Planning for the October attack was discussed at the [[Kuala Lumpur al-Qaeda Summit|Kuala Lumpur Al-Qaeda Summit]] from 5 to 8 January, shortly after the failed attempt. Along with other plotters, the summit was attended by future [[September 11 attacks|September 11]] [[Hijackers in the September 11 attacks|hijacker]] [[Khalid al-Mihdhar]], who then traveled to [[San Diego]], California. On 10 June 2000, Mihdhar left San Diego to visit his wife in Yemen at a house also used as a communications hub for Al-Qaeda.<ref>Nova: The Spy Factory television show.</ref><ref>9/11 and Terror Travel, p. 11.</ref><ref name="ksm">[[s:Substitution for the Testimony of KSM|Substitution for the Testimony of KSM]] at the trial of [[Zacarias Moussaoui]].</ref> After the bombing, Yemeni Prime Minister [[Abdul Karim al-Iryani]] reported that Mihdhar had been one of the key planners of the attack and had been in the country at the time of the attacks.<ref name="smith">Smith (2005), p. 60.</ref> He later returned to the United States to participate in the 9/11 hijacking of [[American Airlines Flight 77]], which flew into [[the Pentagon]], killing 184 people.

===Rescue===
The first naval ship on the scene to assist the stricken ''Cole'' was {{HMS|Marlborough|F233|6}}, a [[Type 23 frigate]] of the [[Royal Navy]], under the command of [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] [[Anthony Rix]]. She was on passage to the UK after a six-month deployment in the [[Persian Gulf]]. ''Marlborough'' had full medical and damage control teams on board, and when her offer of assistance was accepted she immediately diverted to Aden.<ref name="Royal Navy frigate first to respond">{{cite web |title=Attack on the USS Cole (October 12, 2000) |url=https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore/Notable-Graves/Casualties-of-War/USS-Cole |website=Arlington National Cemetery |publisher=United States Department of Defense |access-date=24 January 2025}}</ref> Eleven of the most badly injured sailors were sent via [[Medical evacuation|medevac]] provided by the [[French Air Force]] to a French military hospital in [[Djibouti]] and underwent surgery before being sent to Germany.<ref name="US Forces rush to aid USS Cole">{{cite news |title=USS Cole (DDG-67) Determined Warrior |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/ships/modern-ships/uss-cole.html |access-date=24 January 2025 |work=Naval History and Heritage Command |publisher=United States Navy |date=17 September 2024}}</ref>
[[File:MV Blue Marlin carrying USS Cole.jpg|thumb|left|{{MV|Blue Marlin}} carrying USS ''Cole'']]

The first U.S. military support to arrive was a [[U.S. Air Force Security Forces]] [[Quick Reaction Force]] from the 363rd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, [[363rd Air Expeditionary Wing]], based in [[Prince Sultan Air Base]], Saudi Arabia, transported by [[C-130 Hercules|C-130]] aircraft.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} They were followed by another small group of United States Marines from the Interim [[Marine Corps Security Force Regiment|Marine Corps Security Force]] Company, Bahrain, flown in by [[Lockheed P-3 Orion|P-3 Orion]] aircraft. Both forces landed a few hours after the ship was struck and were reinforced by a U.S Marine platoon with the 1st [[Fleet Antiterrorism Security Team]] Company (FAST), based out of [[Norfolk, Virginia]]. The Marines from 6th Platoon, 1st FAST arrived on 13 October from Norfolk.<ref name="US Forces rush to aid USS Cole" />

{{USS|Donald Cook|DDG-75|6}} and {{USS|Hawes|FFG-53|6}} made best speed to arrive in the vicinity of Aden that afternoon providing repair and logistical support. {{USNS|Catawba|T-ATF-168|6}}, {{USS|Camden|AOE-2|6}}, {{USS|Anchorage|LSD-36|2}}, {{USS|Duluth|LPD-6|2}} and {{USS|Tarawa|LHA-1|2}} arrived in Aden some days later, providing watch relief crews, harbor security, damage control equipment, billeting, and food service for the crew of ''Cole''. [[Landing Craft Utility#United States|Landing craft (LCU)]] from the [[amphibious assault ship]]s provided daily runs from ''Tarawa'' with hot food and supplies, and ferried personnel to and from all other naval vessels supporting ''Cole''. In the remaining days LCU 1632 and various personnel from LCU 1666 teamed up to patrol around ''Cole''.<ref name="US Forces rush to aid USS Cole" />