Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi

Qaed Salim Sinan al-Harethi aka Abu Ali al-Harithi (Arabic: أبو علي الحاريثي ) (died November 3, 2002) was an al-Qaida operative and a citizen of Yemen who is suspected to have been the mastermind behind the October 2000 USS Cole bombing.^[1][2] He was killed by the CIA during a covert targeted killing mission in Yemen on November 3, 2002. The CIA used an RQ-1 Predator remote-controlled drone to shoot the Hellfire missile that killed al-Harithi and five other al-Qaida operatives as they rode in a vehicle 100 miles (160 km) east of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

Al-Harithi was traveling with Kamal Derwish (Ahmed Hijazi), a US citizen, and Derwish's killing was the first known case of the U.S. government killing a U.S. citizen during the "War on Terror".^[1][2]

It was reported that the Yemeni intelligence service had monitored them for months, and relayed the information to the Americans. Tribesmen in Marib province said a Yemeni air force helicopter was hovering over the area moments before the explosion occurred.

The Bush Presidency, citing the authority of a presidential finding that permitted worldwide covert actions against Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network, considered al-Harithi and his traveling party a justifiable military target.^[1][2] Nonetheless, the targeted killing of al-Harithi was the subject of debate on its legality.^[3]

See also

• CIA activities in Yemen

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Walter Pincus (November 6, 2002). "US missiles kill al Qaeda suspects". The Age. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/11/05/1036308311314.html?oneclick=true. Retrieved September 20, 2007. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Dana Priest (November 8, 2002). "U.S. Citizen Among Those Killed In Yemen Predator Missile Strike". Washington Post. http://tech.mit.edu/V122/N54/long4-54.54w.html. Retrieved September 20, 2007. 
3. ^ Brian Whitaker, Oliver Burkeman (November 6, 2002). "Killing probes the frontiers of robotics and legality: 'War on terror' tag allows US to attack anywhere, lawyer argues". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,834311,00.html. Retrieved September 20, 2007. 

External links

• Steve Scher on Weekday February 23, 2007 KUOW-FM interviews James Bamford on the National Security Agency (Note: minutes 21–24 of 54 minute audio)