MYSTERY surrounds the death of an Australian soldier found shot in a barracks in East Timor.
Military sources told The Age initial indications were that the soldier's death was an accident, but Australian Defence Force officers would not say yesterday whether a firearm was found with the body.
It is understood the soldier suffered a head wound.
The shooting occurred at a time of considerable tension in East Timor and antagonism towards Australian troops after an Australian soldier shot and wounded a man from a displaced persons' camp during an altercation on October 31.
The Australians are frequently called on to confront gang members armed with potentially lethal steel darts and machetes.
The soldier's name has not yet been released and last night the ADF would not say why he had a loaded firearm in a barracks. It is normal practice for soldiers to unload their weapons and check them by dry-firing them into a tube full of sand before entering their quarters.
Whatever its cause, the fatal shooting has hit the ADF hard following the deaths of two soldiers in Afghanistan over the past three weeks and the serious wounding of a third.
Trooper David Pearce was killed by a roadside bomb on October 8, SAS Sergeant Matthew Locke was shot dead by the Taliban on October 25 and on November 3, Sergeant Michael Lyddiard was injured by a bomb he was trying to defuse.
Last night the ADF was trying to avoid a repeat of the controversy surrounding the death in Iraq of Private Jake Kovco, who shot himself while skylarking with his service pistol in the room he shared with two others in Baghdad.
There are about 850 ADF personnel in East Timor as part of the International Stabilisation Force.
ADF chief Angus Houston said the soldier's body was found in a barracks in the capital, Dili, on Monday afternoon and death was caused by a gunshot wound.
Hours after the soldier died, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade issued new travel advice warning Australians to reconsider their need to go to East Timor because of the fragile security situation and the risk of violent civil unrest.
The department said the situation could deteriorate without warning and said Australians and Australian interests might be specifically targeted.
On October 4, 2007 an explosive device detonated outside the Australian Defence Co-operation House, adjacent to the Australian embassy. No one was injured.
C-17 Globemaster III in May 2006.
An Australian soldier has been found dead with a gunshot wound in a barracks area in Dili in East Timor.

The soldier, working with the International Stabilisation Force in the turbulent country was found dead on the afternoon of November 5. The exact details of his death are still unknown but Air Chief Angus Houston said an inquiry will be launched as part of the investigation. 

"The soldier's next of kin have been informed and our priority is to ensure the family is receiving the support and care they need," Houston said.

About 850 Australian Defence Force soldiers have been deployed to East Timor as part of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), the military component of United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste. The country was recognised as independent from Indonesia in 2002. 

Three Australian servicemen have died on active service in one month.