The US soldier who killed kidnapped aid worker Linda Norgrove during a botched rescue mission in Afghanistan “genuinely feared for the safety of the lives of his colleagues and also himself and had to make a critical decision in a fraction of a second”, a coroner has concluded.
Giving a narrative verdict at the end of an inquest into Ms Norgrove’s death, Wiltshire coroner David Ridley also said the soldier, who threw a grenade in the compound where she was being held, had “acted unaware of Linda’s presence”.
In a statement released after the verdict, Ms Norgrove’s family said the inquest in Trowbridge had confirmed what they already knew.
It said: “What we have heard at the inquest generally confirms the account given last year at the briefing we received following the joint US/UK military investigation.
“A series of chance events all going the wrong way and an error of judgment by one of the special forces resulted in our daughter’s death.
“She was a lovely girl, had so much to offer and was such a force for good in the world. We miss her terribly. The whole affair is a tragedy.”
Giving his verdict, Mr Ridley said: “What I’ve drawn from this hearing is that the operative genuinely feared for the safety of the lives of his colleagues and also himself and had to make a critical decision in a fraction of a second, unaware of Linda’s presence.”
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