London , England ( CNN ) -- A British aid worker held hostage in eastern Afghanistan since late last month was killed by her captors during a rescue attempt on Friday night , officials said . The woman was identified as Linda Norgrove , who worked for DAI -- an agency that provides various services to developing nations . Norgrove , who was age 36 , spent much of her career managing projects for farmers and rural workers . James Boomgard , DAI president and chief executive officer , called the news `` devastating '' and said his operation is `` saddened beyond words by the death of a wonderful woman whose sole purpose in Afghanistan was to do good. '' . `` Linda loved Afghanistan and cared deeply for its people , and she was deeply committed to her development mission . She was an inspiration to many of us here at DAI and she will be deeply missed . '' British Prime Minister David Cameron said in a statement that Norgrove `` was doing valuable work for the Afghan people . '' `` Decisions on operations to free hostages are always difficult . But where a British life is in such danger , and where we and our allies can act , I believe it is right to try . I pay tribute to the courage and skill of all those involved in this effort , '' he said . British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a written statement that his forces received information about where she was held and `` decided that , given the danger she was facing , her best chance of safe release was to act on that information , '' `` Responsibility for this tragic outcome rests squarely with the hostage takers . From the moment they took her , her life was under grave threat . Given who held her , and the danger she was in , we judged that Linda 's best chance lay in attempting to rescue her . '' Norgrove was being held by two Taliban commanders , Mullah Basir and Mullah Keftan , who were both killed in the raid , an Afghan intelligence official said . An Afghan official said last month that the British woman , two Afghan drivers and a security guard had been kidnapped after an exchange of gunfire September 26 in the Chawkay district of eastern Kunar province . Abdul Marjan Adel , a local provincial official , had said that the four were being held in a `` very remote area , '' and that Afghan and international forces were looking for them . He said they were healthy and located in the Dewcar valley . Provincial officials had created a council of district elders , religious scholars and provincial council members to negotiate with the abductors , he said . The three Afghans kidnapped with Norgrove had been released days ago , according to another Afghan intelligence official and a local provincial government official . Hague expressed his gratitude to NATO allies and Afghan forces `` for doing all they could to secure the safe release of the woman . '' `` Hostage taking is never justified and the UK does not make concessions to hostage-takers . But whenever British nationals are kidnapped , we and our allies will do everything in our power to free them , '' he said . DAI said Norgrove worked in projects around the world , including Afghanistan , Laos , Mexico , Uganda , and Peru , and was involved in projects for the United Nations . She joined DAI in January and has been a senior manager on a program to create jobs , improve local economies and help local leaders `` reduce reliance on the opium economy , '' the group said in a statement . Gen. David H. Petraeus , the ISAF commander passed along his condolences . `` Afghan and coalition security forces did everything in their power to rescue Linda , '' Petraeus said . `` Linda was a courageous person with a passion to improve the lives of Afghan people , and sadly she lost her life in their service . Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time . '' Last year , British troops freed New York Times journalist Stephen Farrell from Taliban captivity in a raid but his interpreter , Sultan Munadi , died in the rescue effort . A British commando was also killed , as were a woman and child . Security forces in Afghanistan this week captured a Taliban leader who was `` directly involved '' in the kidnapping , NATO 's International Security Assistance Force said . CNN 's Ivan Watson and Joe Sterling contributed to this report .
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