THE US Navy Seal who threw a grenade that accidentally killed the Scottish aid worker Linda Norgrove was allowed to remain part of the elite organisation, according to a report at the weekend.

 

Ms Norgrove died during an attempted operation by members of Seal Team 6 to free her from the Taliban in Afghanistan, in October 2010.

An inquest into her death the following year heard that she died after a team member made the "inadvisable" decision to throw a grenade during the operation.

The inquest, in Trowbridge, Wilts., returned a verdict of accidental death. A report said at the time that the un-named Seal was "absolutely shattered" by Ms Norgrove's death and that it was unclear whether he had been disciplined or was still serving with Team 6.

This weekend, in a lengthy profile of Team 6, the New York Times said a joint inquiry by the American and British governments had concluded that the 'operator' who had thrown the grenade had violated procedures for hostage rescues. It added: "He was forced out of Team 6, although permitted to remain in another Seal unit."

The article described Seal Team 6 as one of America's "most mythologized, most secretive and least scrutinized military organizations. Once a small group reserved for specialized but rare missions, the unit best known for killing Osama bin Laden has been transformed by more than a decade of combat into a global manhunting machine."

While other Seal teams carry out similar tasks, Team 6, the most elite unit, "pursues the highest-value targets and takes on hostage rescues in combat zones."

Ms Norgrove was born in Sutherland but grew up in a small community on Lewis. In 2010, she was working as a regional director for the US aid company Development Alternatives Incorporated. Her work took her into Kunar province, an area studded with many militant groups.

On September 26, she and three Afghan colleagues were abducted by armed men as they travelled through Kunar. She was taken into the nearby mountains on foot.

Relating what happened during the rescue mission, the New York Times said: "Disaster struck in the first two minutes, after operators jumped from helicopters in the mountains of Kunar Province and slid down 90 feet of braided rope to a steep slope, according to two senior military officials.

"As they sprinted in the dark toward the Taliban compound, the newest member of the team was confused, he later told investigators. His gun had jammed. 'Thinking a million miles a minute,' he said, he threw a grenade at what he believed were a pair of fighters hiding in a ditch."

After an exchange of gunfire that killed several Taliban captors, the Seals found Ms Norgrove, wearing dark clothing and a head scarf, dead in the ditch.

The man who threw the grenade and another unit member initially reported that Ms Norgrove was killed by an explosive suicide vest, but this account quickly fell apart, according to the paper, with surveillance video showing that she died almost instantly.

In January 2011, before the inquest, Ms Norgrove's father, John, said the Navy Seals had worked in difficult conditions to their attempt to free her. He said: "We don't hold anyone responsible really. I don't think it's a question of responsibility. Nobody deliberately intended to kill Linda."

After the inquest, he said "one tragic aspect" was that at the time the grenade was thrown the kidnappers were all "dead or dying" and the only person "absolutely killed" was his daughter.

"A series of chance events went the wrong way one after another after another," he added. "There appears to be an error of judgment by one soldier."

Ms Norgrove's parents set up a foundation in her name in October 2010 to continue her development work in Afghanistan.

The Foundation was not available for comment yesterday.