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Navy SEAL killed in Afghan explosion

SUMMARY:

One Navy SEAL was killed and another wounded Thursday morning when one of the two men stepped on a land mine near the U.S. military base at Afghanistan's Kandahar International Airport, authorities said.

The dead man was identified as Chief Petty Officer Matthew J. Bourgeois, 35, from Tallahassee, Florida. The second victim's identity has not been released, but authorities said his injuries were not life-threatening.

The explosion occurred at 8:30 a.m. (11 p.m. EST Wednesday) in a remote area known as Tarnak Farms, which had been used as an al Qaeda camp. U.S. troops are training there to remove and neutralize munitions such as land mines. (Full story)

UPDATE:

The U.S. government will seek the death penalty against Zacarias Moussaoui, the first defendant charged in connection with the September 11 attacks, Attorney General John Ashcroft said Thursday. Speaking at a press briefing in Miami, Florida, Ashcroft said he has authorized federal prosecutors to pursue the death penality if Moussaoui is convicted of conspiracy in the terrorist attacks. (Full story)

Pakistani police and U.S. commandos arrested 35 Islamic militants -- including suspected al Qaeda and Taliban members -- early Thursday in eastern Pakistan, police said. One suspect was killed and two suspects and a police officer were injured in an exchange of gunfire during a raid. (Full story)

The editor of a London-based Arabic newspaper says he believes an e-mail purporting to be from Osama bin Laden is genuine. Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper said the message it received Thursday denounces the Saudi peace plan for the Mideast adopted this week at the Arab League summit in Beirut, Lebanon. (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

The U.S. Embassy in Rome warns it has credible information that extremist groups might be targeting Americans in four Italian cities on Sunday, the Christian Easter holiday. But Italian officials said the United States is being alarmist and playing into the hands of terrorists. (Full story)

The USS Theodore Roosevelt returned to port Wednesday in Norfolk, Virginia, bringing home military personnel. The ship departed September 19 as part of the anti-terrorism campaign in Afghanistan. (Full story)

The U.S.-led coalition battling al Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan is shifting its focus farther south, military officials said, responding to unconfirmed reports that bin Laden had been seen in southeastern Afghanistan. (Full story)

A man who traveled to Israel in December with a friend suspected of being on a suicide mission has been charged with lying to a U.S. grand jury investigating whether the two men were providing support to alleged Islamic terrorist groups. The friends are U.S. citizens and attended Muslim schools in suburban Washington. Mohamed Osman Idris, 24, of Annandale, Virginia, is accused of lying to a grand jury in January and February, according to court documents. The other man has not been charged. (Full story)

Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge has offered to make an informal public appearance before members of Congress within the next month to talk about President Bush's counterterrorism budget, said a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-West Virginia. Ridge has been in a dispute with members of Congress for more than a month over Byrd's request that he testify about the funding the president has sought in the wake of September 11. (Full story)

KEY QUESTIONS:

How much longer will fighting continue in Afghanistan?

How much progress has al Qaeda made in developing chemical or biological weapons?

Where is Osama bin Laden?

WHO'S WHO:

Osama bin Laden: Saudi Arabian-born leader of the al Qaeda terrorist network who is accused of masterminding the September 11 strikes on the United States

George W. Bush: U.S. president

Tom Ridge: U.S. homeland security director

John Ashcroft: U.S. attorney general

Zacarias Moussaoui: First criminal defendant charged in connection with the September 11 terror attacks