Charges referred in USS Cole attack

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Charges against the suspected mastermind of the attack on the USS Cole in 2000 were referred to a military commission, the U.S. Defense Department said.

Among other things, the charges allege Abd al-Rahim Hussayn Muhammad al-Nashiri was in charge of the planning and preparation for the bombing of USS Cole in the Port of Aden, Yemen, Oct. 12, 2000, in which 17 sailors died and 37 were wounded, the Pentagon said in a release.

Referring the matter to a capital military commission means that if Nashiri is convicted he could be sentenced to death, the department said Wednesday. Under provisions of the Military Commissions Act of 2009, Nashiri was provided with additional counsel knowledgeable in capital cases to assist in his defense.

The charges also allege that Nashiri oversaw the planning and preparation for an attempted attack on USS The Sullivans while it refueled in the Port of Aden on Jan. 3, 2000. The charges allege Nashiri was in charge of the planning and preparation for the attack on a French oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Oct. 6, 2002, resulting in one crew member's death and the release of about 90,000 barrels of oil into the gulf.

Nashiri will be arraigned at the naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within 30 days of receiving the charges, the Pentagon said.