[JURIST] Interpol [official website] Sunday issued an urgent global security alert [press release] following the escape from a prison in Yemen [government website] of 23 individuals, some of them suspected Al Qaeda members. Among the fugitives is Jamal Ahmed Badawi [MIPT profile], the mastermind behind the 2000 terror attack [US DOD inquiry report] on the USS Cole [ official website], sentenced [JURIST report] to fifteen years in jail for his role in the attack. The 12 convicted Al Qaeda escapees include Fawaz al-Rabeei, who was convicted for the 2002 attack on the French tanker Limburg [BBC News report]. The escape took place Friday through a 460-foot underground tunnel which led the prisoners to a nearby mosque where they escaped amidst the crowd [AFP report]. Intel has requested that Yemen release the names, photographs, fingerprints and all other details on the prisoners so international arrest warrants could be issued. The international police agency also warned that these fugitives are "deemed a serious threat to the entire world community by the UN Security Council, by Interpol and by a wide range of countries" and urged that nations take measures to protect their borders. The New York Times has more.