received an 86-year prison sentence in the US on 26 September. "We are lucky that we abducted this British woman soon after the ruthless ruling by an American court on Aafia Siddiqui. We will demand the release of Aafia Siddiqui in exchange for her", said Osman. Other Afghan sources denied any link to Osman. US military sources identified Norgrove's captors as Kunar Taliban, and British Foreign Secretary William Hague said they were from a Salafist group affiliated with the local Taliban, known as Jamaat al Dawa al Quran. An Afghan intelligence official later identified her captors as local commanders Mullah Basir and Mullah Keftan. Negotiations for Norgrove's release were conducted through local tribal elders. The three Afghans captured with Norgrove were released on 3 October. British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the primary fear was that she "was going to be passed up the terrorist chain, which would increase further the already high risk that she would be killed." The British foreign office asked the media not to release details about Norgrove's personal life while she was in captivity to avoid attaching "trophy value" to her kidnapping. Rescue attempt and death Intelligence reports indicated that a group of local elders were calling for Norgrove to be executed "like the Russian" (a possible reference to the Russian war in Afghanistan). The intelligence prompted Cameron and Hague to approve a United States special operations effort to rescue Norgrove during her 13th night of captivity. The operation was spearheaded by "SEAL Team Six", Navy SEALs from the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. The SEALs staged a predawn raid on the Taliban hillside compound hideout, where Norgrove was held in a shack, on 8 October 2010. The stronghold was surrounded by high, thick perimeter walls in a densely wooded area in the village of Dineshgal, up a steep mountain in the Korengal Valley. At approximately 3:30 am, 20 SEALs and about 24 US Army Rangers from the 75th Ranger Regiment (wearing night-vision goggles) approached the compound, fast roping from two CH-47 Chinook helicopters. They were fired on from the compound and from a nearby position by Taliban armed with AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades, and suicide vests. Two American snipers aboard a helicopter killed two guards using sound-suppressed rifles. An AC-130 Spectre gunship provided the US troops on the ground with close air support, killing two fleeing Taliban. The Rangers secured enemy positions on the