USS Cole Bombing
On October 12, 2000, one year prior to 9/11, Yemen became an early theater in the War on Terrorism, when the 2000 USS Cole bombing killed 17 American sailors and wounded 40 off the port coast of Aden, Yemen. In the aftermath, the government of Yemen rounded up numerous suspected terrorists, many of whom were identified as members of al-Qaeda.
Historically, Yemen has tolerated Islamist terrorism. However, it cracked down on such groups after the September 11 attacks. After the Cole bombing, Yemen allowed U.S. forces to train its troops against terrorism and worked with the CIA.
Read more about this topic: Fawaz Al-Rabeiee
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