SANAA, Yemen, April 12 (UPI) -- An official Yemeni newspaper Saturday published the photographs of 10 prisoners, accused of a role in the USS Cole bombing two years ago, who broke out of prison Friday in the largest escape of its kind ever in the country.
The photographs came out as Yemeni authorities continued their search for the fugitives, who escaped from an intelligence department prison. Analysts said the speed in which the pictures were published in the official newspaper, which faces heavy censorship on such sensitive issues, raised questions about the escape of those who represent an important link in the investigation of the attack.
Seventeen sailors were killed and 39 wounded when an explosives-laden boat ran up to the U.S. Navy destroyer as it was docked off the coast Aden in October 2000.
One of the photos was that of Mohammad Ahmad Ali al-Badawi, who Yemeni and American investigators believe was the cell leader who planned and carried out the attack on Another was Fahd Mohammad al-Qasaa, who the interior ministry said was among those "detained on charges of participating in the attack on the USS Cole."
The men escaped when Badawi and al-Qasaa "dug an opening in the wall of one of the cell's bathrooms and escaped with eight others suspected of affiliation to al-Qaida," according to the interior ministry. The international terrorist network al-Qaida and its leader, the Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden, are accused of carrying out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
The ministry has offered a "generous financial award to anyone who gives information on the whereabouts of the fugitives or assists in capturing them," according to a ministry source. He added Yemen plans to put them on trial.
The breakout of the defendants in a group operation has raised suspicions, as one former anti-terrorist expert said. He told United Press International on condition of anonymity that that the group escape "of such dangerous defendants seems to be part of a deal to close the USS Cole file in light of the important regional developments taking place."
He said that "in the worst case, this is a dangerous challenge and an unprecedented predicament for the security forces if the escape of this number of defendants was due to a defect in security measures."
U.S. and Yemeni investigators have uncovered evidence that suggests links between the alleged bombers and several important Yemeni officials in sensitive positions. U.S. press reports named one of them as Sheikh Abdul Majeed al-Zendani, former deputy prime minister and the head of the consultative council of the opposition Islamic Reform Party. The defendants reportedly said al-Zendani issued a fatwa, or religious decree, permitting the attack on the USS Cole.
