Trial of USS Cole Suspects Postponed [Archives:2001/05/Front Page]

Yemen Times has learnt that the Yemeni government has agreed to postpone the trial of the suspects in the USS Cole Destroyer attack carried out on October 12 leaving 17 marines dead and 39 injured. The postponement resulted from a request by FBI agents who demanded more time for interrogations.
FBI agents have expressed their satisfaction with the cooperation of the Yemeni authorities in enabling the agents to question witnesses and suspects directly, despite a written agreement stating that questions can only be asked directly by Yemeni investigators.
Reports state that there is a common belief that is slowly gaining momentum that the Al-Qaeda group led by Osama bin Laden could be behind the attack.
“People that are in custody now in Yemen claim to have ties to Al-Qaeda. We know they are in Qaeda from what they have said about their dealings with other things.” A US official said.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is also cooperating with US forces to investigate the links of the terrorists who attacked the Cole with Al-Qaeda. “The US is working with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on elements of the investigation.. There is no question that Al-Qaeda was involved.. The question is who gave the orders.” A Bush administration official said.
The exact timing of the planned court hearings is not yet defined, and it is expected that it will only be announced days if not hours before the actual hearings take place.

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