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USS `Cole' families' Sudan trial begins

Trial in a US$105 million lawsuit against the government of Sudan got under way in US court on Tuesday, as relatives of 17 sailors who died in the October 2000 bombing of the USS Cole sought to hold Khartoum legally responsible for the attack.

The bombing was carried out by two Yemeni terrorists who had trained in Sudan. The destroyer was harbored in the Yemeni port of Aden at the time of the attack, which also injured 39 sailors.

The Yemenis blew themselves up next to the Cole, punching a 12m hole in its side.

The lawsuit alleges that Sudan provided financial and training support to members of the al-Qaeda terror network.

Sudan was considered a haven for terrorists after the country's leaders in 1991 encouraged al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his followers to settle there.

Al-Qaeda "built its resources of manpower, logistical planning, expertise and knowledge over the years it was given safe haven and refuge in Sudan," attorneys wrote in court papers filed earlier this year.

The trial, in the US city of Norfolk, Virginia, is expected to conclude by the end of the week.
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