Jamal al-Badawi, an al-Qaeda commander and one of the main plotters behind the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole off Aden, was killed in a US drone attack in Yemen, Yemeni sources said on Friday.
US forces have repeatedly launched drone and air strikes against Yemen’s al-Qaeda branch, known as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in eastern and southern provinces.
There were conflicting reports on Friday on where Badawi was targeted, with some saying in northeastern Yemen’s Marib province and others in the central Bayda province.
But the US Central Command said in a statement on Friday that the air strike on Jan. 1 was carried out in Marib.
"US forces are still assessing the results of the strike following a deliberate process to confirm his death," said Captain Bill Urban, a spokesman for US Central Command.
On Oct. 12, 2000, two men in a small boat detonated explosives alongside the Navy guided missile destroyer as it was refueling in Aden, killing 17 sailors, wounding more than three dozen others and blasting a gaping hole in its hull.
There is a $5 million reward for information leading to Badawi's arrest.
