David Cameron: "Linda may not have died at the hands of her captors"

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David Cameron: "Linda may not have died at the hands of her captors, as originally believed"

British aid worker Linda Norgrove may have been accidentally killed by US forces during a rescue mission in Afghanistan, David Cameron has said.

International forces there originally said the 36-year-old died on Friday when one of her captors detonated a suicide vest.

But the prime minister said new details had come to light suggesting her death may have resulted from a US grenade.

He said he had spoken to her family about the "deeply distressing" news.

Mr Cameron said he was told of the new developments in a phone call from Gen David Petraeus, the top allied commander in Afghanistan, on Monday morning.

He said the general had told him US forces were deeply dismayed at the outcome and said it was "deeply regrettable" that information published on Saturday about Ms Norgrove was highly likely to have been incorrect.

The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Nicholas Witchell in Kabul said British officials there were "dumbfounded".

 
Linda Norgrove was seized in the province of Kunar on 26 September He added: "It raises questions about the manner of the assault; it raises questions about the way in which the American media operation has disseminated this suggestion that she died at the hands of her captors quite unequivocally for 48 hours."

"It appears there has been a review of the surveillance footage that the Americans have, together with discussions with members of the rescue team, that they cannot 'conclusively determine' - that's their phrase - how Linda Norgrove did in fact meet her death."

BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall added the latest developments would raise questions over UK and US relations and the possibility there was an attempt to cover up the circumstances of Ms Norgrove's death.

'Chaotic circumstances'
 
But Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne said there had been no attempt to cover up the truth about the rescue operation.

He said: "That was us acting at all stages on the best information that we had supplied to us. But we will have an investigation and we will try and establish as far as is possible, in what sound like completely chaotic circumstances, precisely what happened."

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Analysis
 
Frank Gardner
 
BBC security correspondent
 
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Last Friday's rescue mission of Linda Norgrove has clearly gone doubly wrong - she died in the attempt and then the wrong information was put out about how she died.

But General Petraeus's office in Kabul maintains that the alternative could have been even worse.

Without giving any details they say they had intelligence that by late on Friday her life was in great danger and that the rescue operation was "her best chance of success".

What both the US and British governments feared was that she was about to be smuggled across the border into Pakistan's tribal territories, passed to an even more extremist group, filmed on video to be uploaded onto the internet and then murdered in cold blood.

Despite what happened in the rescue attempt, Gen Petraeus's office says they have absolutely no doubt that mounting a hostage rescue operation was "the right thing to do".

But this still leaves at least two uncomfortable questions hanging in the air:

1) Why were fragmentation grenades apparently used by her would-be rescuers when there was clearly a high risk she could be injured by them?

2) why were US forces initially so adamant that Ms Norgrove was killed by her abductors, only to now change their minds, causing profound embarrassment to Britain's PM and foreign secretary?
At the Downing Street press conference, Mr Cameron defended the rescue mission, saying it had his full support as Ms Norgrove had been in "grave danger".

He said: "The decision to launch this rescue operation was not an easy one. But I am clear that Linda's life was in grave danger from the moment she was taken.

"Those on the ground and in London feared that she was going to be passed up the terrorist chain which would increase further the already high risk that she would be killed."

A senior US source in Kabul has told the BBC that Ms Norgrove's abductors were believed to be members of the Taliban and linked to the Quetta Shura - the Taliban leadership council believed to be based in Pakistan.

Mr Cameron said 12 meetings of the government emergencies committee, Cobra, had taken place before Foreign Secretary William Hague and the US agreed the rescue attempt should go ahead. His decision was then approved by the prime minister.

It had been thought that Ms Norgrove had been killed by her abductors just as US forces reached the compound in which she was being held in Afghanistan.

But at the start of the press conference, Mr Cameron said it had since emerged that she may have died as a result of a US grenade being detonated during the rescue.

It is usual practice for US Special Forces to take fragmentation grenades on hostage rescue operations, the senior US source added.

Mr Cameron said it had not yet been confirmed that was the case but a full US/UK investigation - which will last several days - was being launched. It is expected to be led by a senior US officer and the results are expected to be made public.

"We must get to the bottom of what happened and make sure first of all that the family get this information and they know exactly how their wonderful daughter died.," he said.

'More time'
 Continue reading the main story “
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Ms Norgrove would have been walking free today if the authorities had given the elders and the locals a chance. ”
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Bilal Sarwary
 
BBC correspondent, Kabul
 Hostage rescuers 'ignored Afghan advice'
Speaking from the Isle of Lewis, Mr Norgrove said: "We are not saying anything to the press at the moment. We might issue a statement in another day or two, we're not certain, but now we are not saying anything."

Mr Cameron added that Ms Norgrove, who was seized in the province of Kunar on 26 September, was being held in remote and high mountains, making the rescue operation very difficult.

Three local staff were also kidnapped alongside Ms Norgrove when the two cars they were travelling in were ambushed. The staff were released unharmed last week.

The Briton, who was employed by US aid group DAI, is believed to have been taken by her captors from village to village as British, Afghan and other intelligence agencies searched the remote area.

Tribal elders negotiating her release told the BBC they had asked Nato not to intervene, to insure they had more time to secure a release.

Col Richard Kemp, a former commander of British troops in Afghanistan, said the team who tried to rescue Ms Norgrove faced "immense dangers" and he was not surprised they had been armed with fragmentation grenades.

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David Cameron's statement on Linda Norgrove's death

David Cameron spoke of his regret that earlier information was probably wrong Transcript of Prime Minister David Cameron on the killing of British Afghanistan aid worker Linda Norgrove:

"I want to make a statement about the tragic death of the British aid worker Linda Norgrove.

As you know, Linda died late on Friday evening during an operation to rescue her from her kidnappers in north-eastern Afghanistan.

The decision to authorise a hostage rescue operation was taken after careful consideration by the foreign secretary in the proper way and with my full support. We were clear that Linda's life was in grave danger and the operation offered the best chance of saving her life.

Linda's death is a tragedy for her family and those who worked alongside her in Afghanistan. She was a dedicated professional doing a job she loved in a country she loved.

Earlier this morning, Gen Petraeus, in command of all Isaf forces in Afghanistan, contacted my office to inform us that in the review of the rescue operation, new information had come to light about the circumstances surrounding Linda's death.

Gen Petraeus has since told me that the review has revealed evidence to indicate that Linda may not have died at the hands of her captors as originally believed.

That evidence and subsequent interviews with the personnel involved suggest that Linda could have died as a result of a grenade detonated by the task force during the assault.

However, this is not certain and a full US/UK investigation will now be launched.

Linda's family were informed of this new information this morning and I've spoken to Linda's father.

My thoughts and the thoughts of the whole country are with them as they come to terms with the death of their daughter and this deeply distressing development.

The decision to launch this rescue operation was not an easy one. You will understand that I can't discuss the intelligence which led us to conclude that a rescue operation was the best way forward.

But I am clear that Linda's life was in grave danger from the moment she was taken. Those on the ground and in London feared that she was going to be passed up the terrorist chain which would increase further the already high risk that she would be killed.

I'm clear that the best chance of saving Linda's life was to go ahead, recognising that any operation was fraught with risk for all those involved, and success could by no means be guaranteed.

Linda was taken and held in a part of Afghanistan under US command. That is why this operation was carried out by US forces.

From the moment Linda was taken hostage Gen Petraeus has treated her as if she was a US citizen. He and US forces did everything in their power to bring Linda home safely. And we should remember that Linda was being held at a remote location high in the mountains.

This was a very difficult operation. We should also remember that ultimately the responsibility for Linda's death lies with those who took her hostage. The US forces placed their own lives in danger. Gen Petraeus has told me they are deeply dismayed at the outcome. I want to thank them for their courage.

None of us can understand just how painful this must be for Linda's family. Also it is deeply regrettable, particularly for them, that the information published on Saturday is highly likely to have been incorrect.

The statements were made in good faith and on the basis of the information that we received. I want to assure Mr and Mrs Norgrove that I will do everything I possibly can to establish the full facts and give them certainty about how their daughter died.

The foreign secretary will be making a full statement to the House of Commons this afternoon."

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Ms Norgrove would have been walking free today if the authorities had given the elders and the locals a chance. ”
End Quote
Bilal Sarwary
 
BBC correspondent, Kabul

Hostage Linda Norgrove's rescuers 'ignored Afghan advice'
By Bilal Sarwary
 
BBC News, Kabul
 Afghan intelligence officials, the police and tribal elders say British aid worker Linda Norgrove would have been alive today if the international forces had paid heed to their advice.

They say the Dewagal valley, where Ms Norgrove was held captive, is one of Afghanistan's most notorious areas.

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It is a remote mountainous area with unpredictable weather and no government worth the name.

A dialogue with her captors was the only way to secure her release, these people told the BBC.

An officer working for the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan's spy agency, said a delegation of mullahs, tribal elders and village chiefs was despatched to the area soon after her capture to negotiate with the militants.

But the coalition forces bombed several nearby locations, forcing the delegation to halt their mission.

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“
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The captors were told that Ms Norgrove was an unarmed aid worker who was helping poor Afghans in the area”
End Quote He said he had personally requested that commanders of the coalition forces allow the elders to talk to Ms Norgrove's captors, but the permission was denied.

A local influential mullah from Khas Kunar district said he had spoken to tribal elders in Dewagal valley to put pressure on the militants to release Ms Norgrove.

He said direct and indirect talks were held with her captors and they were told that taking a woman hostage was against the Afghan culture and a violation of the tenets of Islam.

He said the captors were told that Ms Norgrove was an unarmed aid worker who was helping poor Afghans in the area and that she posed no threat to anyone.

He said Ms Norgrove would have been walking free today if the authorities had given the elders and the locals a chance.

But they instead relied on force, which doesn't really work in Dewagal, he said.