[failed verification][4][5] Although Yemeni officials initially claimed that the explosion was caused by an accident, later investigations found traces of TNT on the damaged ship.

[7][8] The attack caused the short-term collapse of international shipping in the Gulf of Aden and as a result, cost Yemen $3.8 million a month in port revenues.

Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who allegedly also masterminded the USS Cole bombing, was charged by US military prosecutors for planning the attack.

[10] Osama bin Laden issued a statement, which read: By exploding the oil tanker in Yemen, the holy warriors hit the umbilical cord and lifeline of the crusader community, reminding the enemy of the heavy cost of blood and the gravity of losses they will pay as a price for their continued aggression on our community and looting of our wealth.

[9]On 3 February 2006, Fawaz Yahya al-Rabeiee, who had been sentenced to death for the Limburg attack,[citation needed] and 22 other suspected or convicted Al-Qaeda members escaped from jail in Yemen.

[11] On 1 October 2006, al-Rabeiee and Mohammed Daylami were shot and killed by Yemeni security forces during raids on two buildings in the capital Sana'a.