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Investigation under way in Kabul shooting

SUMMARY:

A criminal investigation was under way Sunday in Kabul, Afghanistan, after the first shooting incident involving members of an international security force patrolling the Afghan capital.

A British C-130 transport plane arrived Sunday in Kabul to transport a group of Afghan Muslims to the annual Hajj in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The mission was aimed at easing the pilgrims' frustration over long waits at Kabul's airport, where according to officials there are not enough planes to accommodate the travelers.

The body of an Australian soldier killed while working with U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan was flown out of Kandahar aboard a cargo plane Sunday night. The soldier died Saturday when a landmine exploded in northern Afghanistan. He was the first Australian casualty in the U.S.-led war against terrorism.

An unidentified gunman sped past an observation post of the International Security Assistance Force on Saturday and opened fire on six British paratroopers, officials said. The Britons returned fire, killing an Afghan man. But an Afghan civilian claims the paratroopers fired on a car without provocation.

None of the paratroopers was injured. The circumstances of the shooting remain unclear Sunday, said Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai. (Full Story)

Meanwhile, Saudi officials said Sunday that they had arrested two of three senior interim Afghan government officials suspected in the killing of the country's civil aviation and tourism minister, Abdul Rahman. The men had fled from Kabul to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, after Rahman was killed Thursday. (Full Story)

•  Summary   •  Update   •  Key questions   •  Who's who  CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk

UPDATE:

The U.S.-led coalition launched airstrikes against "hostile enemy forces" in eastern Afghanistan over the weekend, U.S. Central Command said Sunday. Officials said one Afghan was killed and three others were wounded. There were no U.S. casualties. (Full Story)

A team of U.S. Green Beret commandos has arrived on an island in the southern Philippines where Philippine troops have been pursuing a Muslim rebel group with alleged ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network. Officially, the U.S. soldiers are on a training mission, but their arrival in the Philippines has been viewed as a significant expansion in the war on terrorism. (Full Story)

The U.S. government Sunday began taking control of airport security from the nation's airlines. The changes, ordered by Congress after the September 11 terrorist attacks, will include making all airport security screeners federal employees and screening all checked luggage for explosives.

Australia suffered its first fatality in the war on terrorism when a special forces soldier was killed in a landmine explosion, Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill said Sunday.

Pakistan's interior minister said Saturday that two more people have been detained for questioning in the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. (Full Story)

KEY QUESTION:

What were the circumstances of the shooting in Kabul involving members of the International Security Assistance Force?

WHO'S WHO:

Hamid Karzai: Interim Afghan government leader.

Daniel Pearl: A 38-year-old reporter for The Wall Street Journal who was abducted January 23 in Karachi, Pakistan. A group calling itself the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty claims it is holding him and is threatening to kill him unless the United States meets its demands to release Pakistanis captured in the U.S. war on terror.