* Aid worker killed by grenade thrown by American forces
* U.S. rescuers disciplined over reporting of incident
(Adds U.S. military quote)
By Mohammed Abbas
LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - A U.S. grenade killed a British hostage in Afghanistan during a rescue attempt, and members of the U.S.-led rescue team have been disciplined for not reporting full details of the operation, Britain said on Thursday.
Landing on a steep mountainside in pitch darkness, U.S. forces had thrown a grenade after coming under attack, but it inadvertently killed 36-year-old aid worker Linda Norgrove, Britain's foreign minister said.
"It became apparent that Linda had been taken into the gulley into which the grenade had been thrown and where her body had now been discovered," Foreign Secretary William Hague said, announcing the findings of a U.S.-UK probe into the operation.
"The investigation team had access to the provisional post mortem results, which concluded that Linda Norgrove died as a result of penetrating fragmentation injuries to the head and chest. After the investigation it is clear that these injuries were caused by the grenade," he told parliament.
Norgrove was abducted on Sept. 26 with three Afghan co-workers in a remote part of Kunar province, a lawless region bordering Pakistan. The rescue attempt was made on Oct. 8.
Her captors were believed to be a group allied to local Taliban insurgents with links to al Qaeda.
Early reports after the failed rescue attempt said Norgrove had been killed by her captors.
TROOPS DISCIPLINED
"Members of the rescue team have been disciplined for failing to provide a complete and full account of their actions in accordance with U.S. military procedure," Hague said.
A U.S. military statement acknowledged that Norgrove died of grenade wounds during the rescue operations, but did not say who threw the grenade and did not mention any disciplinary procedures against members of the rescue team.
"Although Norgrove's death is a terrible tragedy, the insurgents who kidnapped her bear the ultimate responsibility for her death. U.S. Central Command sincerely regrets the loss of life that resulted from this terrible incident," said General James Mattis, Commander U.S. Central Command.
Mattis and Hague said the final verdict on how Norgrove died would have to wait for a British coroner's report.
Hague said he took full responsibility for authorising the operation. Intelligence had suggested Norgrove had been about to be passed "up the terrorist chain of command", placing her in an even more dangerous situation, and it had been urgent to act.
British Prime Minister David Cameron held a private meeting with Norgrove's parents on Thursday.
Norgrove's death highlights the dangers faced by foreign aid workers and journalists working in Afghanistan.
This year has been the most violent in the nine-year-old NATO-led campaign against Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, where Britain has more than 9,500 troops. There are about 150,000 foreign troops in the country.
U.S. and NATO leaders agreed last month to a schedule set by Afghan President Hamid Karzai for foreign forces to end combat operations in Afghanistan by 2014.
For a factbox on incidents involving foreign civilians in Afghanistan, click [ID:nSGE69O0IY] (Additional reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington: editing by Andrew Roche)
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