British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said a deadly military raid to rescue a Western journalist in Afghanistan was deemed "the only way" to secure his freedom.
New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell, who has dual British-Irish nationality, was freed unharmed. However, his Afghan colleague, father-of-two Sultan Munadi, plus a British soldier and an Afghan woman and child were killed.
Miliband and Britain's Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth took the final decision to approve the use of force to free Farrell, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's official spokesman said.
Miliband told BBC television the deaths bore "very, very heavily on all of us".
'We looked at all the options' "We looked at all the options - and I stress all the options. We had full information in front of us from when we were first briefed on this at the weekend.
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"We came to the conclusion that the only way in which we could secure the successful release of both hostages was through the military action that was taken."
Meanwhile the family of 29-year-old Corporal John Harrison, the British soldier killed in the operation, said they were "absolutely heartbroken".
"John was a wonderful son, brother and a dedicated soldier who was greatly loved and cherished by all his family and friends," they said in a brief statement.
Ainsworth said Harrison had put his life on the line to rescue others.
"He made the ultimate sacrifice and acted heroically in the face of great danger, in the best tradition of the British armed forces and in full knowledge of the risks he faced," the minister said. - AFP
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