Interpol has issued a worldwide alert after 23 accused al-Qaida members escaped from prison in Yemen. The escapees include the suspected mastermind of the 2000 bombing of a U.S. Navy destroyer, the U.S.S. Cole.

The international police agency described the escaped prisoners as extremely dangerous. Interpol's secretary-general, Robert Noble, ordered the orange alert because he says the escapees constitute a clear danger to all countries. He urged Yemen to provide information on the men so that international arrest warrants can be issued.

Yemeni authorities say the men broke out of prison on Friday through a 140 meter tunnel.

Seventeen American sailors were killed in the suicide attack on the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen's port of Aden. Authorities believe the suspected mastermind of that attack was also involved in a 2002 attack on a French oil tanker.