US strikes kill top al-Qaeda plotter of USS Cole bombing in Yemen: Pentagon
Washington, Jan 7: American airstrikes in Yemen killed a top al-Qaeda leader responsible for the deadly USS Cole bombing in 2000 in which 17 US sailors had lost their lives, the Pentagon said.
Seventeen American sailors were killed and at least 40 others injured in the terrorist attack on the US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Cole on October 12, 2000, while it was being refuelled in Yemen's Aden harbour.
Jamal al-Badawi, a "legacy al-Qaeda operative in Yemen" involved in the USS Cole bombing, was wanted by the US for his role in the attack.
Spokesman of the US Central Command Capt Bill Urban said: "Jamal al-Badawi was killed in a precision strike in Marib governorate on January 1".
"US forces confirmed the results of the strike following a deliberate assessment process," Urban said.
President Donald Trump praised the US military for "delivering justice for the heroes lost and wounded in the cowardly attack on the USS Cole".
"We have just killed the leader of that attack, Jamal al-Badawi. Our work against al-Qaeda continues. We will never stop in our fight against Radical Islamic Terrorism!" the president said.
Badawi was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2003, charged with 50 counts of various terrorism offenses, including murder of US nationals and murder of US military personnel.
Badawi was also charged with attempting with co-conspirators to attack a US Navy vessel in January 2000.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
