A kidnapped British aid worker in Afghanistan has been murdered by her captors during an attempted rescue by Nato troops.
The death of Linda Norgrove was announced by William Hague, the foreign secretary. She had been captured last month in eastern Afghanistan.
In a statement, 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.”
General David Petraeus, commander of the US forces in Afghanistan, said every effort had been made to safely rescue Norgrove.
He said: “Afghan and coalition security forces did everything in their power to rescue Linda.
“Linda was a courageous person with a passion to improve the lives of Afghan people, and sadly she lost her life in their service. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time.”
Norgrove and three Afghan colleagues were kidnapped in eastern Kunar province on September 26 after being ambushed.
Police fought a gun battle with the kidnappers near the attack site before the assailants fled. Her colleagues were released last week but Norgrove continued to be held amid growing concern for her life.
It is thought that no British forces were involved in the rescue attempt.
Hague said: “I want to record my gratitude to our Nato allies and to the Afghan authorities and security forces for doing all they could to secure the safe release of Linda.
“Hostage-taking is never justified and the UK does not make concessions to hostage-takers. But whenever British nationals are kidnapped, we and our allies will do everything in our power to free them.
“It is a tragedy that Linda was taken while doing the job she loved in a country she loved. Our thoughts are with her family and friends at this terrible time, and I would ask the media to allow them time to come to terms with their sad loss.”
Born in Sutherland in 1974, Norgrove was educated at the University of Aberdeen and then studied in Mexico. She conducted research in Uganda, specialising in development in rural areas, before joining the United Nations in Afghanistan.
After a spell in Laos, she returned to Afghanistan in February this year working for the firm Development Alternatives Inc as a regional director for a project funded by USAid designed to create jobs and strengthen leadership and the economy in unstable areas of the country.
The only foreigner working with a team of 200 Afghans, she had been based mainly in Jalalabad.
A keen cyclist and walker, last year while based in Laos she had travelled to Afghanistan on holiday and trekked the Wakhan corridor, which lies in the extreme north-east of the country. – guardian.co.uk