| How the rescue of British aid worker Linda Norgrove ended in tragedy Captor detonated suicide vest as US special forces rescuers arrived at the mud-walled compound in eastern Afghanistan American special forces were within "seconds" of rescuing the kidnapped British aid worker Linda Norgrove when she was fatally wounded by a suicidal explosion triggered by one of her captors, Nato said yesterday.Details of how close the pre-dawn operation came to freeing the 36-year-old from a mud-walled compound in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan emerged during a briefing in the capital, Kabul.US soldiers had already fought their way into the stronghold in the village of Dineshgal, in Kunar province, when the blast occurred on Saturday. One of the kidnappers is believed to have been wearing a suicide vest and standing beside Norgrove when it detonated.After US medics reached her they gave emergency first aid and evacuated her by helicopter. She died shortly afterwards. Seven insurgents were reported to have been killed in the raid.The blast occured "seconds before rescuers arrived", a Nato military spokesman said yesterday. "[US special forces] had entered the compound … [but] an insurgent detonated an explosive device that was attached to his person. He was in close enough proximity to Ms Norgrove. She was wounded. Soldiers – who were on the scene very, very shortly afterwards – attempted to provide medical care at the scene. She was evacuated straight away but succumbed to her wounds."Her grieving family, gathered in their croft on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, were yesterday waiting to be given a full account of the events since her abduction before issuing a statement.Her 60-year-old father, John, a retired civil engineer, and her 62-year-old mother, Lorna, who launched the charity Western Isles Beach Clean Up, were too upset to talk. They were joined during the day by Linda's sister Sofie. The family had already recorded a video pleading for her release but the Foreign Office had advised that publicising her identity at that stage would only place her at greater risk.The rescue mission came three weeks after Norgrove was seized by insurgents as she drove from Jalalabad, where she worked for the US aid organisation Development Alternatives Inc (DAI), to inspect an irrigation project she had overseen.An intrepid traveller, Norgrove had risked the journey into one of Afghanistan's more dangerous districts in the company of three trusted local workers. After her Afghan staff companions were liberated by their captors, the security forces became fearful that Norgrove was about to be taken over the nearby border into Pakistan. Tribal leaders were reported to have been trying to negotiate her release from Dineshgal, where she was being held. They complained their efforts were hindered after local roads were blocked by coalition troops.Tributes to Norgrove's dedication poured in over the weekend. Although she grew up in the Outer Hebrides, the family would spend five weeks every second winter in third world countries.After gaining a first class degree at Aberdeen University, she researched how national park management in Uganda affected the indigenous population and eventually secured a PhD from Manchester University in 2002. She became an environmental specialist at the World Wildlife Fund in Peru before going on to work for the UN in Afghanistan and Laos.Norgrove had returned recently to Afghanistan to join DAI. Its chief executive, James Boomgard, said: "Linda loved Afghanistan and cared deeply for its people, and she was deeply committed to her development mission. She was an inspiration to many of us."Scotland's first minister, 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."The foreign secretary, William Hague, defended the decision to launch a rescue operation. "Responsibility for this tragic outcome rests squarely with the hostage-takers," he insisted. "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."In the aftermath of the third fatality among British aid workers in Afghanistan since the summer, both the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development insisted there were no plans to alter advice given to those travelling into potentially hostile regions.In July, Shaun Sexton, 29, from Northumberland, a former member of the Parachute Regiment, died during an attack on DAI offices in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan. He had been working as a security guard. A month later the British doctor Karen Woo and nine others were killed by gunmen in the north-eastern province of Badakhshan in what police said was a robbery. She had been with Christian International Assistance Mission, a charity providing eye care in remote villages.AfghanistanNatoOwen Bowcottguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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Iran stoning woman's son arrested with German journalists Sajad Ghaderzadeh, son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, held after talking to two journalists working without permission in IranIran is to put the son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the woman who was sentenced to death by stoning, on trial for giving an interview to foreign journalists who were working without permission in the country.Sajad Ghaderzadeh, 22, was arrested on 10 October along with two German journalists who interviewed him in the north-western city of Tabriz. Mohammadi Ashtiani's government-appointed lawyer, Houtan Kian, who was present during the interview, was also detained.According to the Iran's Committee Against Stoning (Icas), Ghaderzadeh was supposed to be put on trial today but the court session was postponed for further investigations. He has been denied access to lawyers since his arrest and his family has been unable to communicate with him.Mina Ahadi, of Icas, who had been in regular contact with Ghaderzadeh since his mother was sentenced to death by stoning after being convicted of adultery, said: "Iran is obviously very embarrassed by the world's condemnation of the stoning sentence of Sakineh, and this is largely because of the courage Sajad has shown in supporting his mother. Iran is trying to take revenge on him now."Ghaderzadeh, a Tabriz bus conductor, launched an international campaign for the release of his mother in late June when Iranian officials did not respond to his letters pleading for clemency.He succeeded in bringing Mohammadi Ashtiani's case into the world's attention by writing an open letter highlighting the stoning punishment. "There's no justice in this country," he wrote at the time.He gave several interviews to foreign media, including the Observer. "He knew he would risk his own life by criticising the Iranian regime for such a brutal punishment but nothing ever stopped him defending his innocent mother," Ahadi said.Amnesty International, which has condemned the arrests, said the Iranian government had not responded to its enquiries over the issue.Germany has been seeking the release of the two journalists, who were apparently travelling on tourist visas. Iran said today it had granted them consular access.Sakineh Mohammadi AshtianiIranGermanyPress freedomSaeed Kamali Dehghanguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Typhoon hits Taiwan and Philippines Typhoon Megi has been wreaking havoc in Southeast Asia this week, killing at least 26 people in the Philippines and 12 so far in Taiwan, where 26 others are missing. bbc.co.uk |
'Don't call me Shirley': Leslie Nielsen dies Veteran comic actor Leslie Nielsen, star of Airplane! and The Naked Gun, has died at the age of 84, from complications relating to pneumonia. bbc.co.uk |