Death toll rises in blast that tore into U.S. destroyer

Ship was on moderate security alert

Lt. Comdr. Daren Pelkie, a spokesman for the 5th Fleet, said the Navy had received no specific threats prior to the incident. After the incident, all of the ships of the 5th Fleet were ordered out to sea as a security precaution and were placed on a higher state of alert.

Because the Cole was scheduled to dock for only four to six hours during a routine refueling stop, and its presence in the port had not been advertised, Pentagon sources said any terrorist attack would have had to be "well-planned and sophisticated."

Clark said every ship is required to have an approved "force protection plan." He also said that a series of threat conditions is assigned to every military theater in the world.

The admiral said the destroyer was on Bravo alert, a moderate security alert level that requires posting guards, controlling entry and other security measures.

"That included armed personnel" on deck as it entered the port, Clark said.

But Clark said that because the small boat was involved in helping the Cole with mooring lines, it was not expected to be a threat.

After securing one line on a buoy, the pair steered their boat to the port side of the Cole and stood at attention just before their boat exploded, the sources said.

French, British offer assistance

The blast ripped a 20- to 40-foot-long hole in the port side of the 505-foot ship's hull near the engine and electrical rooms, causing extensive flooding along the water line but no fire.

On Capitol Hill, Rep. Owen Pickett, D-Virginia, told CNN that two men "intentionally" steered the small boat to a "vulnerable" part of the destroyer. Pickett, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said he was briefed by Navy officials.

Hours after the explosion, the flooding had been contained, although the ship listed 4 degrees. The vessel was operating on limited power and no communication was coming from the ship, indicating its electrical system was damaged in the explosion.

The missing sailors were believed to have been working in the engine room area amidships on the port side of the Cole, the apparent target of the blast, U.S. military officials said.

The ship was not sinking, and the crew remained on board.

The Navy dispatched medical and additional security teams to aid the Cole, and British and French officials had offered assistance to evacuate or treat the wounded, Cohen said.

'Tremendous outpouring of support' for families

The Cole is a ship of the Burke destroyer class and carries sophisticated Aegis weaponry. Its home port is Norfolk, Virginia. It was en route to the Persian Gulf to join the U.S.-led maritime interception operations in support of U.N. sanctions that have been in place against Iraq since Baghdad's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

A crew of about 350, both men and women, were aboard the Cole. Clark confirmed that female sailors were among the casualties.

The Pentagon said it was not only contacting the families of the dead and injured, but would be in touch with all families of the crew of the Cole to update them on the situation.

Master Chief Petty Officer Bill Slingerland said there has been a "tremendous outpouring of support" from all around the country for families of the Cole's crew.

"Everybody that's ever gone to sea can feel some compassion for what the families are going through today," Slingerland said.

U.S. investigators headed to Yemen

Clinton said he had directed officials from the Pentagon, State Department and the FBI to go to Yemen to begin an investigation. "If, as it now appears, this was an act of terrorism, it was a despicable and cowardly act. We will find out who is responsible and hold them accountable," he said.

"If their intention was to deter us from our mission of promoting peace and security in the Middle East, they will fail, utterly," Clinton said in the White House Rose Garden after meeting with his national security team.

Those remarks were echoed by the defense secretary.

"We will continue to protect our national interests around the world, in the Middle East and elsewhere," Cohen said. "No one should doubt our resolve to remain a force for peace and for stability, and no one should assume that they can force us to retreat; no one should assume they can attack us with impunity."

In addition to FBI agents going to the scene, the Pentagon deployed its Fleet Anti-Terrorist Support Team, a group of about 70 specially trained Marines based at the Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters in Manama, Bahrain.

The blast was heard all over Aden. It "was so loud I thought it was from inside the hotel," said Ahmed Mohammed Al-Naderi, manager of the nearby Rock Hotel. The windows in 21 of our 33 rooms were shattered, and many of the television sets fell and broke. Thank God, none of the guests or hotel personnel were injured."

Al-Naderi said he could see the Cole from his hotel. "It has a big hole in it, but it doesn't appear to be sinking," he said.

Aden was frequent refueling stop

Because the Cole had just arrived in Aden and was due to remain there for only a short time, U.S. officials said they believed the small boat's mission was a planned act of terrorism. The ship had gone through the Suez Canal on Monday and sailed down the Red Sea before arriving in Aden on the Gulf of Aden, the Navy said.

Clark said arrangements for assisting the Cole's refueling were made 10 to 12 days earlier through the U.S. Embassy in Aden, as is standard procedure for any Navy ship refueling at any port in the world.

Clark said it was too early to say whether U.S. ships would continue using Aden for refueling. He said the Cole was the fourth ship to use the port this year.

It appeared to be the first attack against a U.S. Navy ship since 1991, when the USS LaSalle, a 14,650-ton command ship, was fired on with automatic weapons from two unidentified craft while deployed in the Persian Gulf.

The region has been swept in recent weeks by demonstrations, some of them violent and often with an anti-U.S. tone, sparked by Israeli-Palestinian clashes in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Pro-Palestinian rallies have been held daily in Yemen.

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who talked by telephone with Saleh, said the Yemeni president offered condolences, visited the injured at a hospital and pledged support in the investigation.

At the Justice Department, Attorney General Janet Reno said FBI agents in the region have been sent to the scene and that the bureau was putting together investigators, explosives experts and an evidence response team to send as well.

The nearest FBI legal attaches are stationed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.