Historical record Record 2000-002

2000 World Events · Post-Cold War transition and asymmetric shock

USS Cole bombing in Aden

Suicide attackers struck the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole while it was refueling in Aden harbor, killing seventeen sailors.

Evidence-led reading

What is stated, why it matters, and what remains uncertain

What this is

A specific-event record selected from the protected World Events source ledger for cross-year research. It is not an exhaustive account of 2000.

Why it matters

It exposed al-Qaeda maritime capability and foreshadowed the scale of U.S. counterterrorism after 2001.

What is established here

The page faithfully exposes the submitted record and its source boundary. No claim-level evidence packet has yet upgraded the record beyond a research starting point.

What remains uncertain

Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.

Record narrative

Source-bounded summary

Suicide attackers struck the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole while it was refueling in Aden harbor, killing seventeen sailors.

Why the ledger includes it

It exposed al-Qaeda maritime capability and foreshadowed the scale of U.S. counterterrorism after 2001.

Structured fields

Record at a glance

Stable record ID
2000-002
Date or period
2000-10-12
Type
Terrorist attack
Focus
Terrorism
Impact scope
Global
Priority
5 of 5
Location label
Aden, Yemen
Coordinate precision
City-level coordinate
Actors named by the source record
Al-Qaeda; United States Navy
Verification state
source-start-point; sensitive details require independent verification

Geographic context

A coordinate locator, not a surveyed event footprint

The submitted record supplies 12.7855, 45.0187 with the precision label “City-level coordinate.” Multi-location events, disputed borders, campaigns, and broad regions cannot be reduced to one point.

Review location and coordinate boundaries
Global coordinate grid for USS Cole bombing in Aden An abstract longitude and latitude grid marking the record coordinate. It is not a political map or a surveyed event boundary.
180°WPrime meridian / equator grid180°E

Source and verification boundary

This remains a starting-point record

Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.

Citation and correction

Use the stable record ID and challenge individual propositions

A correction may concern the date, place, actors, attribution, legal status, figures, coordinate precision, source characterization, or why-pivotal summary without invalidating every other field.

Suggested citation

2IA — International Intelligence Archive. “USS Cole bombing in Aden.” World Events record 2000-002. Reviewed July 27, 2026. https://2ix.org/world-events/2000/2000-002/