Death of Linda Norgrove On 26 September 2010 Scottish aid worker Linda Norgrove and three of her Afghan colleagues were kidnapped by members of the Taliban in the Kunar Province , in eastern Afghanistan . At the time she had been working in the country as regional director for an international development company . Following their capture the group was taken to the nearby Dewegal Valley area . United States and Afghan forces began to conduct search operations in the area , including road blocks to prevent the group from being moved east into Pakistan . Norgrove ' s captors demanded the release of Afia Siddiqui in exchange for her return . During the negotiations , on 3 October 2010 , the Taliban released her three Afghan colleagues . Five days later , following concerns that Norgrove would be killed or moved by her kidnappers , the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group conducted a pre - dawn rescue attempt on the Taliban mountain hideout where she was being held captive . US forces killed several of the kidnappers as well as three local farmers in the assault . They subsequently located Norgrove in a nearby gully ; she was badly wounded and later died from her injuries . Initial reports suggested that Norgrove had been killed by one of her captors detonating an explosive belt . However , a joint official investigation by the United Kingdom and United States concluded Norgrove ' s death resulted from a grenade thrown by the rescue team . A coroner ' s narrative verdict from February 2011 stated that Norgrove had died during the failed rescue attempt . Linda Norgrove . Norgrove was born in Altnaharra , Scotland , in 1974 to John and Lorna Norgrove . She spent her childhood on a croft on the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles , attending a primary school in Uig . She later attended the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway . From 1992 Norgrove studied at the University of Aberdeen , gaining a first - class honours degree in tropical environmental science ; her coursework involved postgraduate research at the University of Chiapas in Mexico , and a year of study at the University of Oregon ( 1993 – 94 ) . She attended the University of London in 1996 and 1997 , graduating with distinction in a masters degree in rural resources and environmental policy . In 2002 , Norgrove was awarded a PhD from the University of Manchester in development policy and management . From 2002 to 2005 she worked for the World Wide Fund in Peru , initially supporting and later taking charge of the WWF ' s Forest Program in the Peruvian portion of the Northern Andes . At the time of her death , Norgrove was working towards completing an Master at the University of Warwick through distance learning , in addition to her aid work . Norgrove worked in countries including Afghanistan ( first for the United Nations , in 2005 – 08 , and later as regional director of an international development company , based in Jalalabad , from February 2010 ) , Laos ( as an environmental specialist for the U . N . from 2008 – 09 ) , Mexico , and Uganda ( where she researched how national park management affected the indigenous population around Mount Elgon National Park ) . Kidnapping . On 26 September 2010 , Norgrove and three Afghan colleagues were travelling in the Chawkay ( aka Tsawkay , Sawkay ) district of the eastern Kunar Province when they were kidnapped by local insurgents . They were ambushed whilst driving , in a convoy of two unarmored and unmarked Toyota Corolla s , along the main highway from Jalalabad to Asadabad in the Dewagal valley A U . S . military convoy had been ambushed two months prior on the same stretch of road . Norgrove was wearing a burqa , in an effort to conceal the fact that she was a foreigner . A local farmer saw Norgrove being led into the hills by six to eight men , armed with Kalashnikovs and rocket - propelled grenade launcher s . She was dressed in men ' s clothing by her captors , and taken into the mountains . After her capture Norgrove was taken into the Dewegal Valley ; a valley in the Chowkai District which intersects with the Korengal Valley . Elements of the US Army ( Bravo Company , 2 / 327 Infantry , 1st Brigade Combat Team , 101st Airborne Division ) began a 12 day search , supported by Afghan Army , Police and Commando units , under the codename " Enterprise " . A house to house search was conducted and roadblocks created at the valley entrance , to prevent her captors transferring Norgrove eastward , into Pakistan . The difficult terrain and lack of roads complicated and slowed this process , however the search efforts did succeed in containing the kidnappers in the vicinity and several local Taliban members were killed . Negotiation with captors . It was unclear , at first , who had kidnapped Norgrove and her colleagues . One Taliban Commander , Pakistan - based Mohammed Osman , was reported to be demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui in return for Norgrove ' s freedom . Siddiqui , called " Lady al - Qaeda " , had been sentenced to an 86 year jail term in the U . S . on 26 September . " The Telegraph " reported that Osman told the Afghan Islamic Press ( a local organisation with Taliban links ) : However , other Afghan sources denied any link to Osman . U . S . military sources identified Norgrove ' s captors as Kunar Taliban and British Foreign Secretary William Hague said they were from a local Salafi st group ( an extreme form of Islam ) allied to the local Taliban . An Afghan intelligence official later identified her captors as local commanders Mullah Basir and Mullah Keftan . Negotiations for Norgrove ' s release were conducted via local tribal elders . The three Afghans captured with Norgrove were released on 3 October . Around this time security forces became concerned that Norgrove was about to be taken over the nearby border into Pakistan . British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the great fear was that she " was going to be passed up the terrorist chain , which would increase further the already high risk that she would be killed " . The British foreign office asked the media not to release details of Norgrove ' s personal life while she was being held captive so as to avoid giving " trophy value " to her kidnapping . Rescue attempt and death . Intelligence indicated that one group of local elders were calling for Norgrove to be executed " like the Russian " ( possibly a reference to the Russian war in Afghanistan ) . There were also concerns that she might be moved across the Pakistan border , around 10 miles from where she was being held , into the tribal areas of North Waziristan . The intelligence prompted British Prime Minister Cameron and William Hague to approve a United States special operations effort to rescue Norgrove on her 13th night of captivity . The operation was spearheaded by Navy SEALs , from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group ; a unit often referred to as " SEAL Team Six " that is used for high - risk counter - terrorist operations . The SEALs staged a pre - dawn raid on the Taliban hillside compound hideout , where Norgrove was being held in a mud and timber shack , on 8 October 2010 . The stronghold was surrounded by high , thick , perimeter walls in a densely wooded area . It was located in the village of Dineshgal , up a steep - sided mountain in the Korengal Valley , Kunar Province . At approximately 3 : 30 AM , in darkness , 24 SEALs and around 20 U . S . Army Rangers , 75th Ranger Regiment , wearing night - vision goggles approached the compound , fast roping from two CH - 47 Chinook helicopters . They were fired upon from within the compound and from a nearby overwatch position by Taliban armed with AK - 47 s , rocket - propelled grenades , and suicide vests . Two American snipers on board a helicopter killed two guards , using sound suppressed rifles . An AC - 130 Spectre gunship provided the US troops on the ground with close air support , and killed two fleeing Taliban . The Rangers secured fire base s on the surrounding hillside . All six Taliban gunmen who fought the U . S . force were killed in the prolonged firefight . During the gunfight Norgrove ' s captors dragged her outside the building where she was being held . However , she appears to have broken away from them . Video footage of the raid showed an explosion in her vicinity ; Norgrove was then found lying injured , in a fetal position , in a gully . Norgrove received emergency medical treatment and was evacuated by helicopter , but died from her injuries . It was initially reported that she had been killed by one of her captors detonating a suicide vest during the rescue attempt . According to " The Guardian " it is not unusual for insurgents to put on suicide vests if there is a risk of attack . Taliban commanders Mullah Basir and Mullah Keftan , who were holding her , were among those killed in the raid , according to an Afghan intelligence official . Other women and children in the compound were not injured , and no members of the rescue team were wounded . Joint investigation . The British Foreign Secretary , William Hague , announced Norgrove ' s death . In a written statement he said that after receiving information on her location it was " decided that , given the danger she was facing , her best chance of safe release was to act on that information . " In a statement to defend the rescue attempt , Prime Minister Cameron said ; " Decisions on operations to free hostages are always difficult . But where a British life is in such danger , and where we and our allies can act , I believe it is right to try . " On 10 October , an unnamed Afghan intelligence officer said Norgrove had been killed by a grenade that had been thrown by her captors . The following day , Prime Minister Cameron told media that new information indicated Norgrove may have been killed accidentally by a U . S . grenade . In an interview , the Prime Minister said " Linda could have died as a result of a grenade detonated by the task force during the assault . However , this is not definite . " A U . S . military statement said " Subsequent review of surveillance footage and discussions with members of the rescue team do not conclusively determine the cause of her death " . U . S . President Barack Obama promised " to get to the bottom " of the failed rescue attempt . General David Petraeus , commander of the NATO security force in Afghanistan , ordered an investigation into the incident . U . S . Major General Joseph Votel ( Chief of Staff of U . S . Special Operations Command with experience in U . S . special operations ) and British Brigadier Rob Nitsch ( the Head of Joint Force Support , UK Forces Afghanistan ) were appointed to lead a joint UK and US investigation . Norgrove ' s family was kept informed of the results of the investigation . It was reported on 12 October that the results were expected within days . Whilst the military investigation was conducted Norgrove ' s body was repatriated to the United Kingdom ; arriving on 14 October , via a Royal Air Force flight , at RAF Lyneham . A humanist funeral ceremony , attended by hundreds of people , was held on 26 October at the Uig Community Centre in the Western Isles . Norgrove ' s body was interred at Ardroil cemetery . On 2 December , the results of the joint investigation were announced by Hague . The probe concluded that Norgrove had been accidentally killed by a grenade thrown by a U . S soldier . Hague said to the House of Commons : " A grenade was thrown by a member of the rescue team who feared for his own life and those of his team towards a gully from where some of the insurgents had emerged . When the grenade was thrown no member of the team had seen , or heard , Linda Norgrove . " Navy SEAL sailors did not immediately notify senior officers about throwing the grenade , in breach of military law . As a result , a number of sailors were disciplined . A post - mortem examination of Norgrove ' s body was conducted by British coroner Pathologist Doctor Russell Delaney on 19 October 2010 . Detective Chief Inspector Colin Smith of the Metropolitan Police told an inquest , opened 22 October in Salisbury coroner ' s court , that the examination identified the cause of death as " penetrating fragment injuries to the head and chest . " In February 2011 the coroner recorded a " narrative verdict " . In it he confirmed the findings of the earlier military investigations that Norgrove had been killed by one of the US rescue team . He also noted that a gunshot wound to the leg that Norgove received during the rescue had not contributed to her death . Tributes . A regional director for Development Alternatives , the company Norgrove worked for at the time of her kidnap , released a statement saying : Robert Watkins , United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator , praised Norgrove in a statement , saying ; " She was a true advocate for the people of Afghanistan and was dedicated to bringing improvements to their lives " , and that " her spirit and compassion will be greatly missed " . The First Minister of Scotland , Alex Salmond , said " Ms . Norgrove was a dedicated aid worker who was doing everything she could to help people in Afghanistan — hopefully that legacy of service in a humanitarian cause can be of some comfort to her loved ones in their time of grief " . Norgrove was posthumously awarded the 2011 Robert Burns Humanitarian Award for her work in Afghanistan . Her family has set up a charitable foundation , The Linda Norgrove Foundation , to continue her relief work .