Early in chapter 5 we introduced, along with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, two
other men who became operational coordinators for al Qaeda: Khallad and Nashiri.
As we explained, both were involved during 1998 and 1999 in preparing to attack
a ship off the coast of Yemen with a boatload of explosives. They had originally
targeted a commercial vessel, specifically an oil tanker, but Bin Ladin urged
them to look for a U.S. warship instead. In January 2000, their team had
attempted to attack a warship in the port of Aden, but the attempt failed when
the suicide boat sank. More than nine months later, on October 12, 2000, al
Qaeda operatives in a small boat laden with explosives attacked a U.S. Navy
destroyer, the USS Cole. The blast ripped a hole in the side of the Cole,
killing 17 members of the ship's crew and wounding at least 40.121
The plot, we now know, was a full-fledged al Qaeda operation, supervised
directly by Bin Ladin. He chose the target and location of the attack, selected
the suicide operatives, and provided the money needed to purchase explosives and
equipment. Nashiri was the field commander and managed the operation in Yemen.
Khallad helped in Yemen until he was arrested in a case of mistaken identity and
freed with Bin Ladin's help, as we also mentioned earlier. Local al Qaeda
coordinators included Jamal al Badawi and Fahd al Quso, who was supposed to film
the attack from a nearby apartment. The two suicide operatives chosen were
Hassan al Khamri and Ibrahim al Thawar, also known as Nibras. Nibras and Quso
delivered money to Khallad in Bangkok during Khallad's January 2000 trip to
Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.122
In September 2000, Bin Ladin reportedly told Nashiri that he wanted to
replace Khamri and Nibras. Nashiri was angry and disagreed, telling others he
would go to Afghanistan and explain to Bin Ladin that the new operatives were
already trained and ready to conduct the attack. Prior to departing, Nashiri
gave Nibras and Khamri instructions to execute the attack on the next U.S.
warship that entered the port of Aden.123
