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'Regret and sadness' over Canadian deaths

SUMMARY:

Four Canadian soldiers were killed and eight wounded Thursday near Kandahar, Afghanistan, when a U.S. F-16 pilot mistakenly dropped a 500-pound laser-guided bomb on them during a training mission, according to U.S. and Canadian military officials.

Canadian military authorities said they would investigate the friendly fire incident with the cooperation of the United States.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld issued a statement Thursday, expressing "deep regret and sadness over the tragic accident."

UPDATE:

U.S. officials said the pilot involved in the Afghanistan friendly fire accident dropped a bomb on the Canadian soldiers after his commanders denied him permission to do so. The pilot reported ground fire, invoked his right of self-defense and dropped the bomb, officials said. (Full story)

Captured al Qaeda fighters said Osama bin Laden was wounded in Tora Bora last year and ordered his lieutenants to disperse from the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, according to anti-terror coalition intelligence sources. The detainees contradicted each other when interrogated about bin Laden's possible injuries and whereabouts, and it hasn't been independently confirmed that the al Qaeda leader was wounded in the battle. (Full story)

Malaysian police have arrested 14 members of an Islamic extremist group linked to al Qaeda, the country's police chief said Thursday. The suspects include two Indonesians and the wife of a man accused of helping two September 11 hijackers, Police Inspector General Norian Mai said. (Full story)

The Australian government said Thursday it has been advised that a 46-year-old Sydney man is in U.S. military custody after being arrested in Pakistan in October. Mamdouh Habib is alleged to have undertaken training with al Qaeda. He is the second Australian to be arrested as an al Qaeda suspect. (Full story)

The former king of Afghanistan returned Thursday to his home country and a red carpet welcome after 29 years in exile. The Italian military aircraft carrying Mohammad Zahir Shah touched down amid tight security at Bagram air base outside the Afghan capital, Kabul. (Full story)

New details of a troubled past have emerged about a Tanzanian man arrested in North Carolina this week on immigration charges as part of the U.S. government's terrorism probe. The man, Issaya Nombo, was convicted in 2001 in South Africa on charges related to buying pilot's license examination papers. However, he fled before he could be sentenced, a South African Civil Aviation Authority official said. U.S. investigators said Nombo may have been targeted as a possible recruit by al Qaeda. (Full story)

Relatives of the 40 passengers and crew members killed when a hijacked plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field September 11 have an opportunity Thursday to hear the plane's cockpit voice recording. The FBI is playing the 30-minute tape in closed sessions inside a Princeton, New Jersey, hotel. (Full story)

KEY QUESTIONS:

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.

Donald Rumsfeld: U.S. defense secretary

Mohammad Zahir Shah: Former king of Afghanistan