Cohen says premature to say bin Laden was behind Cole bombing

WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary William Cohen said Wednesday it is too early to conclude that suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden was behind the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen.

Speaking with reporters in his Pentagon office, Cohen was asked whether evidence collected so far by U.S. and Yemeni investigators points to bin Laden, the exiled Saudi millionaire who is wanted by the FBI in connection with the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa.

''We can't say that at this point,'' Cohen responded. ''That's a conclusion that hopefully the FBI will be able to reach (soon), in terms of who is responsible and who we can hold accountable. Osama bin Laden is one that we will continue to look at, but it is by no means definitive at this point as to who was responsible for this.''

Bin Laden has called for a holy war on the United States and vowed to drive the U.S. military out of the Middle East.

The Cole, a guided-missile destroyer, was refueling in Aden harbor on Oct. 12 when a small boat loaded with explosives maneuvered to the ship's side and detonated the bomb, blowing a 40-by-40-foot hole in the hull and killing 17 sailors.

Cohen said U.S. investigators in Yemen are ''still getting good cooperation'' from Yemeni authorities, but he knew of no breakthroughs.

The Cole, meanwhile, continued its journey aboard the heavy-lift ship Blue Marlin en route to the United States. Navy officials said Tuesday no final decision had been made on whether the Cole would return to its home port at Norfolk, Va., or to a shipyard in Maine or Mississippi. The Navy intends to repair the $1 billion ship and return it to service.