Twenty-three suspected Al-Qaeda members escaped from a Yemen prison in 2006. The escape is notable because the escapees included several individuals imprisoned for their participation in the USS Cole bombing. Gaber Al-Bana’a was believed to be an American citizen, who traveled to an Afghan training camp with some friends who became known as the Lackawanna Six or Buffalo Six, when they were rounded up as a "sleeper cell".
The prisoners escaped through a 140-metre tunnel.
Escapees
According to the Yemen Times the escapees were: Yaser Naser Al-Homikani Mohammed Sa’eed Al-Omda Fawzi Mohammed Al-Wajeh Zakria Hasen Al-Baihani Abudlrahman Ahmed Basora Abdullah Ahmed Al-Remi Fawaz Yahya Al-Rabe ai Hizam Saleh Mugli Gamal Mohammed Al-Badwi Nasir al-Wuhayshi Abdulrahman Ahmed Basurah Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Hoidi Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Mukri Aref Saleh Mugli Shafik Ahmed Zaid Gaber Al-Bana’a Hamza Salem Al-Kuaiti Omer Sa’eed Gar Allah Abdullah Yahya Al-Wa’adi Khaled Mohammed Al-Batati Kasem Yahya Al-Remi Mohammed Ahmed Al-Remi Mansour Naser al-Bahani