KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And the suspects linked to the attack of the USS Cole in Yemen have possibly been located. You'll remember, 17 sailors were killed and dozens more were injured in the October 12th bombing. CNN National Security correspondent David Ensor has been tracking the case.</s>DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. and Yemeni officials say key suspects in the bombing of the USS Cole have fled to safety in Afghanistan. In fact, a senior Yemeni official tells CNN that the man investigators believe organized the attack, a Saudi citizen of Yemeni origin named Mohammed Omar Al Harazi (ph), is in Afghanistan too. US officials say it is logical that Al Harazi (ph), who is allegedly an explosives expert working for accused terrorist Usama bin Laden, would be in Afghanistan, but said they could not confirm his whereabouts. In House testimony Wednesday, however, State Department Counterterrorism Coordinator Chief Michael Sheehan said, "While we do not have full information on who planned and carried out the attack on the USS Cole, we do know that numerous people immediately left Yemen for Afghanistan. Afghanistan's ruling Taliban government also shelters bin Laden. Investigators have said all along they suspect bin Laden's Al-Qaida group was behind the bombing. At the White House, Counterterrorism Coordinator Richard Clarke said, "The Taliban government can expect only international isolation."</s>RICHARD CLARKE, WHITE HOUSE COUNTERTERRORISM COORDINATOR: Then there are governments like Afghanistan, which are engaged in the smuggling of heroin and the harboring of terrorists, and governments such as Afghanistan, I think, have to be considered criminal organizations.</s>ENSOR: Next week, at the United Nations, the Security Council is expected to pass a US and Russian sponsored resolution imposing an arms embargo and other restrictions on the Taliban. Administration officials say they believe the incoming Bush administration will also favor tightening the screws on the Taliban until they give up bin Laden. David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
Suspects in USS Cole Bombing Flee to Afghanistan