12 October 2014 Attacks on USS Cole spurred DIA’s counterterrorism mission Terrorists attacked the USS Cole during a scheduled refueling stop in Aden, Yemen, on Oct. 12, 2000. A small boat carrying explosives rammed the Cole, ripping a 40-by-40 foot hole in its side, killing 17 U.S. Navy personnel and injuring many more.Then-Secretary of Defense William Cohen launched an...