A court in Yemen has sentenced two men to death for their roles in the attack on the U.S. destroyer Cole nearly four years ago that killed 17 American servicemen.
The sentence was handed down Wednesday to Yemeni national Jamal al-Badawi and Saudi-born Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who is currently in U.S. custody. He was tried in absentia.
He also is suspected of involvement in attacks against U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 that killed 224 people.
Four other defendants were given prison terms ranging from five to 10 years.
All six were convicted of playing different roles in the suicide bombing of the U.S. navy ship on October 12th, 2000, when it was refueling at Aden Harbor, as well as belonging to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network.
The defendants are expected to appeal.
Information for this report is provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.