 |
Investigation Into US Navy Destroyer Blast Concludes: Yemen
Yemeni Interior Minister Rashid al- Alimi has indicated said that investigation into the cause of the blast of a US Navy destroyer last October in a Yemeni port has been concluded and the case is now ready to go to court.
A Yemeni source told Xinhua on Saturday that Alimi said that the United States, however, asked the Yemeni authorities to put off hearing into the case.
The request has been accepted as the U.S. side might provide more information about the case, Alimi added.
The explosion took place on October 12 last year when an explosive-laden rubber raft ran into the USS Cole missile destroyer, docked in the Red Sea port of Aden in southern Yemen for refuelling, killing 17 U.S. sailors and wounding several others.
Local press on Saturday reported that the U.S. Department of State has reopened the visa section of the U.S. embassy in Yemen and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs William Burns is expected to arrive in Sanaa on Monday for a brief visit.
Burns is reportedly to meet with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and other senior Yemeni officials on the Cole issue.
Also on the agenda of Burns' talks are bilateral ties, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories and the efforts aimed at restarting the Mideast peace process.
In This Section
|