A Yemeni judge finally sentenced al-Quso to ten years in prison in 2004 for his participation in the USS Cole attack . However he was secretly released by government officials in 2007 . Al-Quso is reported to have appeared in a video released by AQAP ‘ threatening to strike the U.S. homeland embassies and warships . " A picture of al-Quso surfaced with a Yemeni journalist Arafat Mudabish , who interviewed him for a story . Mudabish reports that " he lives in an isolated mountain area where there is no Yemeni government presence . " He was also linked with the 2009 Christmas bombing over Detroit , as suspected bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab visited him to discuss the plot and the workings of the bomb . Al-Quso was from the same tribe as radical U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki , who had an operational role in the attack . On December 7 , 2010 the United States Department of State designated al-Quso as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order 13224 which “ blocks all al-Quso ’s property interests subject to U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in transactions for the benefit of al-Quso . ” “ He was also placed on the United Nations ( UN ) 1267 list of persons associated with al Qa’ida and the Taliban requiring all UN member states to implement an assets freeze , a travel ban , and an arms embargo against this individual . ” Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso was killed by a CIA drone 's missile in Yemen on May 6 , 2012 , as he exited a vehicle alongside another operative . U.S. officials confirmed his death , along with confirmation from an official statement by AQAP
2009 Christmas bombing over Detroit
Northwest Airlines Flight 253
Fahd al-Quso