【英语国际】英美将联手调查英国救援人员在阿富汗死因

A grenade thrown by U.S. forces may have killed a kidnapped British aid worker in Afghanistan, British Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday, as the U.S. military announced an investigation into the failed rescue attempt.

The prime minister said there also would be a full U.S. and U.K. investigation into the death of Linda Norgrove, 36 years old. She was slain Friday as American forces stormed the compound where she was being held in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, and U.K. and U.S. officials initially said her captors had killed her.

Mr. Cameron said Monday that this was 'highly likely to have been incorrect.'

The British government was informed Monday by the top U.S. and allied commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, that Ms. Norgrove may have been killed accidentally by U.S. special forces, Mr. Cameron said.

U.S. forces were used in the operation because Ms. Norgrove was being held in an area controlled by the Americans and because American officials saw her as their responsibility given she was working for a U.S. contractor, Mr. Cameron said. The final decision to make the rescue attempt was made by British officials, he added.

'I am clear that the best chance of saving Linda's life was to go ahead,' said Mr. Cameron, paying tribute to the U.S. forces who tried to rescue her. 'Ultimately the responsibility for Linda's death lies with those who took her hostage.'

U.S. Forces Afghanistan -- which is distinct from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization task force there -- said Gen. Petraeus had requested an investigation of the rescue mission. Gen. Petraeus commands both missions.

A U.S. official said the U.S. and Britain were working together to determine what happened to Ms. Norgrove. The rescue was planned together, the official said, and both sides were sharing everything they know about what went wrong during the rescue attempt.

'Initial reports indicated the explosion was caused by a detonation triggered by one of the captors,' U.S. Forces said in a statement immediately following the prime minister's comments. A subsequent review does 'not conclusively determine the cause of her death.'

The investigation will allow both sides 'to establish the full facts,' a spokesman for the prime minister said.

Ms. Norgrove was traveling in Kunar province when she was abducted in September by a Taliban faction linked to al Qaeda. She was working with Development Alternatives Inc., one of the largest development contractors working for the U.S. State Department in Afghanistan. Three Afghans abducted with her were released unharmed.

英国首相卡梅伦（David Cameron）周一说，美国军队扔下的一枚手榴弹可能使在阿富汗遭到绑架的一名英国救援人员丧生，与此同时美国军队宣布将调查这起失败的救援行动。

英国首相说，英美将全面调查现年36岁的琳达•诺格罗夫（Linda Norgrove）的死因。美国军队上周五袭击了诺格罗夫正被关押的阿富汗东部山区的战俘营，她当天丧生，英美官员刚开始时说，劫持诺格罗夫的人杀死了她。

卡梅伦周一说，这一结论很可能是错误的。

卡梅伦表示，周一英国政府得到驻阿富汗的美国暨盟军司令彼得雷乌斯（David Petraeus）将军的报告说，诺格罗夫可能是意外被美国特种部队炸死的。

卡梅伦说，在行动中使用美国军队是因为，诺格罗夫被困于美国军队控制的地区内，而且鉴于诺格罗夫为美国一家承包商工作，美国官员认为营救她是他们的责任。卡梅伦补充说，最终营救决定是由英国官员作出的。

卡梅伦向曾试图营救诺格罗夫的美国军队表达了敬意，他说，我很清楚营救琳达生命的最好机会是发动攻击，最终要为琳达之死负责任的是那些绑架她的人。

美国驻阿富汗军队表示，彼得雷乌斯将军已下令调查营救行动。美国驻阿富汗军队与北大西洋公约组织（North Atlantic Treaty Organization）特遣部队不同，但都由彼得雷乌斯将军指挥。

美国一位官员说，英美正共同努力彻查在诺格罗夫身上究竟发生了什么。这位官员说，救援计划是美英双方共同拟定的，双方将分享各自发现的救援行动败笔。

在卡梅伦讲话后，美军很快在声明中表示，初步报告显示爆炸是由一个劫持者引爆的，但随后的检查没有最后确定这是诺格罗夫的死因。

英国首相的发言人说，调查将让双方确定全部实情。

诺格罗夫去年9月被与基地组织（al Qaeda）相关的一个塔里班派别劫持，当时她正途经阿富汗库纳尔省。她为开发承包企业Development Alternatives Inc.工作，该公司是为美国国务院在阿富汗工作的最大开发承包企业之一。跟她一起遭到绑架的三名阿富汗人后来得到释放，他们没有受到伤害。