Kidnapped Scottish aid worker killed

A Scottish woman kidnapped in eastern Afghanistan on 26 September was killed as NATO forces attempted to rescue her on Saturday.

Linda Norgrove, a 36-year old from the Isle of Lewis, was working for the Development Alternatives Inc (DAI), a Washington-based organisation specialising in social and economic projects. She had been in Afghanistan as an experienced aid worker for a number of years, initially working for the UN.

In a statement issued through the Foreign Office on Saturday, foreign secretary William Hague said: "It is with deep sadness that I must confirm that Linda Norgrove, the British aid worker who had been held hostage in eastern Afghanistan since 26 September, was killed at the hands of her captors in the course of a rescue attempt last night.

“Working with our Allies we received information about where Linda was being held and we decided that, given the danger she was facing, her best chance of safe release was to act on that information.

"Responsibility for this tragic outcome rests squarely with the hostage takers. From the moment they took her, her life was under grave threat. Given who held her, and the danger she was in, we judged that Linda’s best chance lay in attempting to rescue her.”

However, on Monday Prime Minister David Cameron announced that Ms Norgrove's death may have been caused by an American grenade - not, as was originally thought, by a bomb detonated by her captors.

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, Mr Cameron said that General David Petraeus, the American commander of allied forces in Afghanistan, had informed him of this development early on Monday morning. He said that Ms Norgrove's family had been informed, and promised that "a full US-UK investigation will now be launched".

The abduction occurred on the road between Jalalabad and Asadabad, in the Kunar region. Ms Norgrove and three Afghan colleagues who were released unharmed last week, were on their way to the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Salar Canal, a 24km waterway providing irrigation for up to 8500 farming families.

Local police leaders reported a brief fight with gunmen before the four hostages were taken up into the mountains by their captors. Local elders were sent in immediately after the kidnapping, however, initial hopes for her release did not materialise.

It is thought that Ms Norgrove was taken from village to village as Afghan, British and other intelligence agencies tried to trace her.

In response to the news, DAI President and CEO James Boomgrand called Norgrove an “inspiration” who will be “deeply missed” and extended his condolences to her family.

He said: “We are saddened beyond words by the death of a wonderful woman whose sole purpose in Afghanistan was to do good—to help the Afghan people achieve a measure of prosperity and stability in their everyday lives as they set about rebuilding their country.”

Kunar has seen some of the fiercest fighting of the nine-year conflict. Once considered one of the safer areas of the country, the Taliban have now strengthened their hold and the border with Pakistan is a network of unpoliced supply routes. Afghans and foreigners are often captured by armed gangs seeking ransom money or to sell victims on to militant groups.

Amidst increasing attacks on foreign aid workers, NGOs have come under some criticism for placing their employees in areas where security conditions have so greatly deteriorated. Ms Norgrove’s murder comes only weeks after British surgeon Karen Woo was shot dead alongside nine other aid workers in north-east Afghanistan.

Speaking last week in the wake of the kidnapping, Steven O’Connor, Director of Communications of DAI told The Journal: "We are constantly reassessing the situation on the ground, but based on the latest analysis of our security team, which is enormously experienced in this region, we are maintaining our commitment to Afghanistan, because we are needed and because we are making a difference there. But employee safety remains our paramount concern."