Yemen Plans To Prosecute Suspects Behind USS Cole Disaster

Yemen has sent prosecutors to begin work on the case of the apparent suicide bombing of a U.S. destroyer in Aden and plans to put the six suspects on trial next month, government officials said on Thursday.

They said the six suspects included some civil servants who had allegedly provided other suspects with forged documents.

A senior government official said the probe into the October 12 bombing of the USS Cole, which killed 17 U.S. sailors had been referred to the general prosecutor.

"The prosecution office in Aden will review the case and complete investigations with the six defendants in preparation for filing charges," the official said.

The officials would not say if the six were the only suspects to be charged in the case. But it has been reported that Yemen's Interior Minister Hussein Mohammed Arab said authorities had arrested the main suspects in the bombing.