Morning of 12. October 2000. The world did not expect it would become a historical date. Port of Aden was busy as any other morning, but some 20 minutes after eleven o’clock everything will be changed. Two suicide bombers detonated their small boat alongside USS Cole. Eyewitness of this historical event was “Kli-Kli”, which was moored just 600 meters of wounded NATO destroyer.
In the third book of Srboljub and Jelena Kojadinović – “Isti jarboli dva pokolenja“, this event is described from their own perspective:
The USS Cole passed by “Kli-Kli” early in the morning on the 12th of October for fuel bunkering. During the passing, the entire crew of “Kli-Kli” gathered on the deck, adequately presenting their attitude in a response to the last year’s bombing of Yugoslavia. They wished them a merry journey to hell.
During the development of the event, the whole “Kli-Kli” crew was onshore, exploring the town of Aden. The sound of the explosion shook them at the beach of Elefant bay on the opposite side of the Al-Ma’ala cape.
“Kli-Kli” stayed seven days more at the Aden, leaving on the 19th. October, as seen from the port declaration of departure.
The backside of the Port of Aden ship’s clearance interesting report is stapled. The delivery of a postal package/document for Belgrade’s weekly journal “Ilustrovana Politika“. This document shows Srboljub has sent written reports or photographs of USS Cole to the “Politika” editorial office.
References and suggestions for further readings:
- Official FBI website: USS Cole bombing
- www.govinfo.gov – US Government Information – Lessons learned from the attack on USS Cole
- Wikipedia: USS Cole bombing