U.S. vows to find terrorist attackers of Navy destroyer

The explosion blasted a 20-by-40-foot hole in the side of the ship at the waterline

6 U.S. sailors killed in Yemen; dozens injured or missing

In this story: Terrorism? U.S. says yes; Yemen doubtful Pentagon: Small harbor craft carried explosives 'It has a big hole in it' Ship was headed to Persian Gulf Aden a frequent refueling stop RELATED STORIES, SITES

ADEN, Yemen (CNN) -- A pair of suspected suicide terrorists on Thursday steered a small boat loaded with explosives alongside a U.S. Navy destroyer in Yemen and stood at attention as the small boat blew up, U.S. officials said.

GALLERY Images of the USS Cole     AUDIO Bashraheel Bashraheel, a reporter for Al-Ayam newspaper in Yemen, describes the scene PART ONE: 396K/33 sec. AIFF or WAV sound PART TWO: 224K/22 sec. AIFF or WAV sound PART THREE: 276K/26 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     ALSO Damaged USS Cole calls itself 'Determined Warrior' FBI sending veteran Mideast investigators to Yemen Ship attack causes U.S. embassies in Mideast to assess security Yemen has history of terrorism Ship attack reminds Norfolk of dangers     RESOURCES Information for families of sailors serving on the USS Cole: 1-800-368-3202 For updated Naval press releases involving the USS Cole, click here Click here for facts about the Arleigh-Burke class of destroyer Timeline of terrorist attacks against U.S. interests     MESSAGE BOARD USS Cole ramming

The explosion opened a large hole in the hull of the USS Cole. At least six U.S. sailors were killed, and dozens of other Americans were injured or missing. The missing are presumed dead.

"Our prayers are with the families who have lost their loved ones, or are still awaiting news," President Clinton said.

Terrorism? U.S. says yes; Yemen doubtful

Although U.S. military sources said the possibility of an accident also was being investigated, a senior Pentagon official told CNN "We have every reason to suspect it was a terrorist attack. There is no reason to suspect it was anything else."

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, however, suggested a technical problem inside Cole caused the explosion. But he promised that his country -- located on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula on the Red Sea -- would help with an investigation and would punish anyone found responsible.

Clinton said he had directed officials from the Pentagon, State Department and the FBI to go to Yemen to begin an investigation. "If, as it now appears, this was an act of terrorism, it was a despicable and cowardly act. We will find out who is responsible and hold them accountable," he said.

"If their intention was to deter us from our mission of promoting peace and security in the Middle East, they will fail, utterly," Clinton said in the White House Rose Garden after meeting with his national security team.

In addition to FBI agents going to the scene, the Pentagon also deployed its Fleet Anti-Terrorist Support Team, a group of about 70 specially trained Marines based at the Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain.

The attack also led Defense Secretary William Cohen to cancel a planned trip to California.

No one has claimed responsibility for explosion; the two suspected suicide terrorists are unaccounted for.

Pentagon: Small harbor craft carried explosives

The Cole has a crew of about 350, both men and women. In addition to the six sailors who were killed, 35 were injured and 11 others are missing and presumed dead, according to Pentagon officials.

The wounded were being flown to Germany for treatment.

This image shows the hole in the side of the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden

The missing sailors are believed to have been working in the engine room area on the port (left) side of the Cole.

Initial reports from the Pentagon said the destroyer was rammed from the rear by a small attack boat packed with explosives at about 12:15 p.m. (5:15 a.m. EDT/9:15 GMT).

However, as more details became available, senior Pentagon officials told CNN said that the small vessel was the kind used in normal harbor operations in the port of Aden.

Pentagon sources said two men aboard the boat were helping the Cole fasten mooring lines in preparation for refueling in the port. After securing one line on a buoy, the pair steered their boat to the port side of the Cole and stood at attention just before their boat exploded, the sources said.

The sources said there was no doubt that the explosion came from the small boat, but it was not clear whether the boat rammed the ship.

On Capitol Hill, Rep. Owen Pickett, D-Virginia, told CNN that two men "intentionally" steered the small boat to a "vulnerable" part of the destroyer that houses the engine and electrical rooms.

Pickett, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said he was briefed by Navy officials.

'It has a big hole in it'

An unidentified U.S. sailor injured in the explosion on the USS Cole, receives medical attention in a hospital in Yemen on Thursday

The blast tore a large hole in the ship's hull and caused flooding that left the 505-foot-long Cole listing four degrees to its port side.

The explosion was heard all over Aden, and ambulances rushed to the port. The injured, some of them suffering from burns, were taken to hospitals, and the Navy was flying a medical team from Bahrain.

The explosion "was so loud I thought it was from inside the hotel. The windows in 21 of our 33 rooms were shattered, and many of the television sets fell and broke," said Ahmed Mohammed Al-Naderi, manager of the port-side Rock Hotel. "Thank God, none of the guests or hotel personnel were injured."

Al-Naderi said he could see the Cole from his hotel. "It has a big hole in it, but it doesn't appear to be sinking.

Ship was headed to Persian Gulf

The Cole had just arrived in Aden for a scheduled four-hour refueling stop on its way to the Persian Gulf when the blast occurred.

The explosion tore a 20-foot-by-40-foot hole in the port side, according to Lt. Cmdr. Daren Pelkie, a spokesman for the 5th Fleet. He said flooding aboard the Cole was contained and no fires were reported.

Pelkie said the Navy had received no specific threats prior to the incident. After the incident, all of the ships of the 5th Fleet were ordered out to sea as a security precaution and were placed on a higher state of alert.

The Cole is a ship of the Burke destroyer class and carries sophisticated Aegis weaponry. Its home port is Norfolk, Virginia. It was en route to the Persian Gulf to join the U.S.-led maritime interception operations in support of U.N. sanctions against Iraq.

In Norfolk, Adm. Jay Foley, the commander of the Navy's Atlantic fleet surface forces, said legal help and grief counseling was being made available for the families of crew members.

Aden a frequent refueling stop

Because the Cole had just arrived in Aden and was due to remain there for only a short time, U.S. officials said they believed the small boat's mission was a planned act of terrorism. The ship had gone through the Suez Canal on Monday and sailed down the Red Sea before arriving in Aden on the Gulf of Aden, the Navy said.

A Norfolk Naval Base security officer searches a truck entering the base on Thursday

U.S. Navy ships commonly stop in Aden for refueling. The region has been swept in recent weeks by demonstrations, some of them violent and often with an anti-U.S. tone, sparked by Israeli-Palestinian clashes in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Pro-Palestinian rallies have been held daily in Yemen.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who talked by telephone with Saleh, said the Yemeni president offered condolences, visited the injured at a hospital and pledged support in the investigation.

At the Justice Department, Attorney General Janet Reno said FBI agents in the region have been sent to the scene and that the bureau was putting together investigators, explosives experts and an evidence response team to send as well.

The nearest FBI legal attaches are stationed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre, White House Correspondent Kelly Wallace, Correspondent Gary Tuchman, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

U.S. Navy
  • USS Cole
COMNAVSURFLANT: Central Command, Atlantic Fleet
  • USS Cole Updates
U.S. Department of Defense
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ArabNet: Yemen
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