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4 November 2002 |
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Washington (VOA) Nov 04, 2002 - The deaths in Yemen of six suspected al-Qaida terrorists, including a key planner in the bloody attack on a American destroyer two years ago, appear to be the work of a missile fired by a unmanned U.S. aircraft. Officials at the Central Intelligence Agency are not commenting on the incident, in which several al-Qaida members traveling in a vehicle were killed. But a senior administration source, speaking on condition of anonymity, says the attack Sunday, appears to be the work of a Hellfire missile fired by a CIA controlled Predator unmanned drone aircraft. The CIA has used armed Predators before in Afghanistan. Among those reported killed is Ali Qaed Senyan al-Harethi, a key suspect in the October attack two years ago in Yemen on the U.S. destroyer Cole. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says his death is good thing. "Needless to say he has been an individual that has been sought after as an al-Qaida member as well as a suspected terrorist connected to the USS Cole so it would be a very good thing if he were out of business." Seventeen U.S. sailors died in the attack on the Cole, which was struck by suicide bombers during a brief refueling stop in the Yemeni harbor of Aden. Alex Belida is a staff writer for Voice of America |
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5 November 2002 |
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-470173,00.html |
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The Predator unmanned aircraft, armed with Hellfire missiles, above, is the CIA's deadliest weapon, capable of hovering for hours over a target and firing off a weapon at the push of a button in an office thousands of miles away. The unmanned aerial vehicle developed by the US company General Atomics has been operational as a battlefield spy plane for several years and was used effectively over Kosovo in 1999, flying at 25,000ft and taking high-resolution pictures. However, early last year, after successful test trials, the Predator was fitted with Hellfire anti-tank missiles. It was a dramatic development, for it meant that its operators could spot a moving target and launch a missile immediately. In Kosovo, if the unarmed Predator located a moving target, a bomber had to be called up and, by the time it reached the position, often the target had gone. Predators with Hellfire missiles were used for the first time operationally in Afghanistan. Television monitors that followed their progress were located at the CIA's headquarters at Langley in Virginia, and at the Pentagon. Unfortunately for the CIA, Washington had failed to sort out a well-defined command and control system to ensure a rapid response. Thus, when Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taleban leader, was spotted in a vehicle travelling though the mountains, it took too long for the aircraft's operators to get permission to fire a missile. Mullah Omar escaped. Two months ago Donald Rumsfeld, US Defence Secretary, announced that he would use special forces to mount counter-terrorist operations wherever suspected al-Qaeda members were known to be located. The CIA moved to Yemen recently and was given authority to fire the missiles.
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