Interpol officials have now verified that a number of convicted al-Qaeda operatives escaped from a Yemeni prison by digging a tunnel -- and included among them was the mastermind of the attack on the USS Cole:

A man considered a mastermind of the USS Cole bombing that killed 17 sailors in a Yemeni port in 2000 was among 23 people who escaped from a Yemen prison last week, Interpol said Sunday. ...

Interpol said in a statement that at least 13 of the 23 escapees were convicted al-Qaida fighters, who escaped via a 140-yard-long tunnel "dug by the prisoners and co-conspirators outside."

Yemeni officials confirmed to Interpol that a man considered a mastermind of the Cole attack, identified as Jamal al-Badawi, was among those who escaped.

Al-Badawi was among those sentenced to death in September 2004 for plotting the USS Cole attack. Two suicide bombers blew up an explosives-laden boat next to the destroyer as it refueled in the Yemeni port of Aden on Oct. 12, 2000.

They dug a tunnel? Was this a prison or a tent camp?

Let's make a deal with the various governments in the region. We'll take custody of AQ terrorists captured from now on, and they can use these high-security prisons for some other purpose .... perhaps training their guards about how to detect big holes being dug out from underneath them.

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