Sources: Yemeni authorities question 9 about Cole attack

The USS Cole is lifted by a Norwegian dry dock vessel off the coast of Aden, Yemen

ADEN, Yemen (CNN) -- Yemeni officials have detained and questioned nine people in connection with the explosion that damaged the USS Cole, Yemeni sources told CNN on Tuesday.

Four of those detained in Aden were traced by phone records. Five others, detained in Sayoun and Lahj, were described as "Yemeni officials" who may have had some contact with the bombers during March.

None was arrested or formally charged, and several, the sources said, have already been released.

INTERACTIVE Cole commander thanks America for support     GALLERY Images from the homecoming Images of Cole being loaded onto transport ship Photographs give closeup view of Cole damage     INTERACTIVE Timeline: The attack on the USS Cole     MESSAGE BOARD USS Cole attack

A pair of suicide bombers detonated a bomb in a small boat alongside the U.S. warship in Aden harbor on October 12. Seventeen sailors were killed and 39 injured. The heavily damaged ship is en route back to the United States aboard a heavy lift transport ship.

Since the bombing, U.S. officials have been pressuring Yemeni authorities to allow the United States to take part in the investigation.

Shortly after the attack, bomb-making materials were found in an apartment near the harbor. Authorities found what they believe to be a hideout used by the attackers and a car and trailer that they suspect were used to put a boat carrying the explosives into the water.

The bombers are believed to have used as much as 600 pounds of C-4, a plastic explosive, to build the bomb.

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