Sudan welcomes U.S. court ruling over USS Cole bombing case

KHARTOUM, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Sudan on Tuesday welcomed a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court acquitting it in the case of the bombing of U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole in 2000.

By a majority of 8-1, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a previous ruling in 2012 by a lower Court in Washington D.C. to allow the payment of 314.7 million U.S. dollars from Sudan's frozen assets in the U.S. to the families of the victims and injured sailors.

Sudan has won a lawsuit filed against it regarding the bombing of the USS Cole near the Gulf of Aden in Yemen concerning alleged involvement of Sudan in that, said Sudan's Foreign Ministry in a statement.

It hailed the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling as an "important step" towards refuting the standing allegations on Sudan's connection with terrorist operations.

Seventeen U.S. sailors were killed and 39 others injured in a suicide attack against the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS Cole on Oct. 12, 2000, when it docked in Yemen's Aden harbor for refuelling. The terror group al-Qaida claimed responsibility for the attack.

In 2010, some families of the victims and injured sailors of the USS Cole sued Sudanese government, alleging that the attack could not be carried out without the support of the Sudanese government.

The Sudanese foreign ministry reiterated that it would continue its efforts, in cooperation with all concerned national and external parties, "to remove all baseless allegations and accusations against Sudan."