Event

USS Cole bombing

2000 · 21st century

The USS Cole bombing was a suicide attack by al-Qaeda on the American destroyer USS Cole while it was refuelling in the harbour of Aden, Yemen, on 12 October 2000. Two men steered a small boat packed with explosives against the ship's hull, killing 17 American sailors and wounding dozens. It was one of the deadliest attacks on a US warship since the Second World War.

USS Cole bombing
Image: DoD photo by Sgt. Don L. Maes, U.S. Marine Corps. (Released) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). USS Cole bombing. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/uss-cole-bombing
MLA
“USS Cole bombing.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/uss-cole-bombing. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “USS Cole bombing.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/uss-cole-bombing.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘USS Cole bombing’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/uss-cole-bombing (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻