NORFOLK, Va. – Family members of seven of the 17 sailors killed in the bombing of the USS Cole (search) are suing Sudan (search) for more than $100 million, contending the African nation financed, trained and harbored the terrorists responsible for the attack.
"Those widows and children very much need" the money, John Clodfelter, whose son Kenneth was killed in the Oct. 12, 2000, attack, said Monday.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in Norfolk. The destroyer is based at Norfolk Naval Station (search).
Homicide bombers pulled an explosive-packed boat alongside the Cole as the ship refueled in the Yemen (search) port of Aden, blasting a large hole in its side. The attack was blamed on Usama bin Laden's Al Qaeda (search) terrorist network.
The lawsuit alleges Sudan was a haven for bin Laden or his followers in the years before the attack.
A spokesman for the Sudanese Embassy in Washington said the embassy had not seen the lawsuit and had no comment.
Six alleged Al Qaeda operatives were charged earlier this month in Yemen with plotting the attack.
Save by crew from sinking, the ship was repaired in Pascagoula, Miss. It recently completed its first overseas duty since the bombing, returning to Norfolk in May after six months in the Mediterranean Sea.
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