a Yemeni appeals court upheld a death sentence against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri

a Yemeni appeals court upheld a death sentence against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, an al Qaeda militant found guilty of the 2000 bombing of the US destroyer Cole, but commuted a death verdict against Jamal Badawi to 15 years in prison. Nashiri, seen as a former al Qaeda leader in the Gulf, was being held in the United States where he was expected to face separate legal procedures. Of verdicts passed against four others in the original trial in September 2004, one was commuted from eight to five years. Three others retained jail sentences ranging from five to 10 years. The Cole was refuelling when two men on a small craft laden with up to 500 pounds of high explosives rammed their boat into the guided missile destroyer. The court in 2004 named the suicide bombers as Ibrahim al-Thour and Hassan al-Khamri.