Yemeni authorities were hunting Feb. 6 for 23 convicted al Qaeda operatives — including the mastermind of the deadly 2000 attack against the USS Cole — who escaped from a Sanaa prison Feb. 3. The breakout demonstrates not only that al Qaeda can establish contact with its operatives in Middle Eastern prisons, but also that imprisoning militants is not a sure way of taking them out of circulation. Moreover, this mass breakout could be the first step in a planned attack in the region. Jamal Mohammad al-Badawi, mastermind of the USS Cole attack, has escaped from a Yemeni prison once before — along with nine other prisoners. He remained at large for 11 months, until Yemeni security forces wounded him during an intense firefight in March 2004.