In
Yemen today, a suspected
terrorist attack on the
USS Cole blew a 20 by 40
foot hole in the
hull of the
ship, a
Navy Destroyer. The
injured were being flown to
Germany.
The 505-foot long ship had stopped for refueling and was on the Bravo (moderate) alert level, but it was not advertised to be in the area, because to do that would probably be a bad idea. This seems to lend some credit to this being a well-planned strike. Other ships were ordered out to sea as a result of the bombing and placed on a higher state of alert.
The missing sailors were thought to be working in the engine room. After a few hours, the flooding water was contained, but the ship was still on a 4 degree angle, in stable condition, and so the crew of men and women stayed on board. Both males and females are listed as casualties.
Supposedly, two men were steering a small boat into a vulnerable part of the ship, perhaps meaning they knew exactly where to go to get the most damage.
The ship's home port was in Norfolk, Virginia, and it was heading towards the Persian Gulf to help with the sanctions against Iraq.
This seems to be the first reported attack against a US Ship since '91, when the USS LaSalle, a Command Ship, was fired upon with automatic weapons while in the Persian Gulf.