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What happened in the attack on the USS Cole in 2000?

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Madrid train bombings of 2004 — terrorism Rescue workers evacuating the bodies of victims of a terrorist train bombing near Atocha Station, Madrid, March 11, 2004.

On October 12, 2000, the USS Cole, a U.S. naval destroyer, was targeted in a terrorist attack while preparing to refuel in the harbor of Aden, Yemen.1

Suicide bombers associated with the militant organization al-Qaeda steered a small boat into the side of the warship. The resulting explosion tore a 1,600-square-foot hole in the vessel's hull, killing 17 sailors and wounding 39 others.12

The attack was a deliberate act of violence against military personnel, which stands in direct opposition to the fundamental ethical principles of human rights and the sanctity of life. Following the incident, legal proceedings were initiated against Saudi-born 'Abd al-Raḥīm al-Nashīrī, who was tried in absentia by a Yemeni court and later faced U.S. military charges. These proceedings were subsequently complicated by revelations regarding the use of coercive interrogation tactics, such as waterboarding, during his detention at Guantánamo Bay.1