Graphic source: CNN
Susan Ali Elbaneh, a U.S. citizen, was killed in the terrorist attack in Yemen, site of the attack on the U.S.S. Cole. She was 19 and had been married for just two months. She died alongside her husband. Ironically, and just a coincidence that she was killed in the attack, Elbaneh is a relative of Yemeni-American Jaber Elbaneh who is on the FBI's most wanted list. Yemen has not cooperated in extraditing Jaber. Elbaneh had accompanied her sister in law who had an appointment with the embassy. During the attack, Ms. Elbaneh's nephew, aged three, may also be among the casualties.
The U.S. had only recently decided to return to the Embassay after having pulling out citing security concerns.
The highly coordinated and complex attack is usually a hallmark of AQ attacks but another group, the Yemeni Islamic Jihad, has claimed responsibility. How the group and AQ are related is unclear. Leading figures include Qasim al Raymi and Nasser al Wahayshi, two of the 23 AQ insurgents who escaped prison in February 2006. Hamza al Quaity, the former leader of Yemeni Islamic Jihad, also escaped during the same prison break and later formed Yemeni Islamic Jihad. All three have strong ties to al Qaeda.
All told, 16 people were killed in the attack, which did not involve U.S. service personnel. In addition, the actions of the Yemeni security forces apparently thwarted the attack and bore the brunt of the casuality toll.
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