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| Yemen president: Boat used in Cole attack bought in Saudi Arabia
SANAA, Yemen (CNN) -- Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh told reporters on Friday that the small boat used in last month's deadly attack on the destroyer USS Cole was purchased in Saudi Arabia. He gave no details. Two suicide bombers are believed to have sailed the boat filled with explosives to the side of the destroyer and detonated it on October 12, killing 17 U.S. sailors and injuring dozens more. On Wednesday, Yemeni Prime Minister Abdel Karim al-Iriyani told CNN that one of the bombers had been identified as a Saudi citizen with Yemeni family ties who fought Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s. He said both suicide bombers were from Yemeni families from the province of Hadhramaut, which borders Saudi Arabia.
The province is also the home of the family of fugitive Saudi Osama bin Laden, an accused terrorist suspected by U.S. officials to have ordered the bombing of the Cole. Officials admit, however, they have no proof of a bin Laden connection to the bombing.
CNN Correspondents Walter Rodgers and David Ensor contributed to this report. RELATED STORIES: U.S. warships to resume use of Suez Canal for first time since attack on USS Cole RELATED SITES: The Pentagon
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