Reporter's Rescue Draws Afghan Ire

Afghan journalists blamed international troops Thursday for the death of a kidnapped colleague during a rescue operation and said British commandos showed a "double standard" by leaving his body while retrieving a foreign New York Times writer.

The newly formed Media Club of Afghanistan - a group of Afghan reporters who work with international news outlets - also condemned the Taliban for abducting both men last week in northern Afghanistan as they investigated reports of civilian deaths in a German-ordered air strike.

Local journalists laid flowers Thursday at the grave of reporter and translator Sultan Munadi in Kabul. Munadi, 34, was killed by gunfire during a British commando raid Wednesday to free him and New York Times writer Stephen Farrell.

Munadi was shot during the raid, but Farrell survived and was taken away in a helicopter. One British commando was killed in the raid.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said on Thursday that troops carried out the raid in the attempt to recover both Farrell and Munadi.

Defense officials said the rescue team came under small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire.

Brown's office said in the statement the mission was authorized as the "best chance of protecting life." His office said the British leader would contact Munadi's family to offer his condolences.

At Thursday's ceremony, the Media Club issued a statement holding international forces responsible for launching a military operation to free the journalists without exhausting nonviolent channels.

CBS News partner network Sky News reported that Munadi's family had told them a deal to secure his release was just days away when the unexpected raid took place.

Sky reporter Alex Crawford said Munadi's family had spoken to the Taliban militants holding him just hours before the raid. They were told his release was imminent.

A Taliban commander in Kunduz province, where the kidnapping took place, told CBS News' Sami Yousafzai on Wednesday that a deal to release Farrell and Munadi had been reached, but that a Taliban council of elders had decided to overrule that decision.

The Afghan reporter's group also said in its statement that it was "inhumane" for the British forces to rescue Farrell, who has dual British-Irish nationality, and also retrieve the body of the commando killed in the raid while leaving behind Munadi's body.

Munadi's body was retrieved Wednesday afternoon through intermediaries and brought to Kabul.

Col. Wayne Shanks, a U.S. and NATO spokesman, called the deaths during the rescue operation "tragic" but said he did not want to assign blame.

"It's unfortunate that this whole situation occurred, that the journalists were kidnapped," he said, adding, "I don't think that during the middle of a firefight anyone can blame someone for what they did or did not do."