The Guardian is quoting unnamed sources in this piece as it gives details about the rescue of three Western men held captive since November in Baghdad. The unnamed source says the CPT workers were freed because of a rift among the kidnappers. The rift began to occur when leaders of ‘The Swords of Righteousness Brigade’ showed up, took Tom Fox and killed him.

…the source said it was nervousness on the part of the guards that led to a tip-off to the British authorities and the peaceful end to the three men’s ordeal. The source said Mr Kember and his colleagues were well treated throughout. “They were able to watch TV and movies, were given writing materials, were well fed, and encouraged to exercise and keep in shape,” the source said.

Six Iraqis are in custody, accused of being in the gang, and are being interrogated by British intelligence to try to find clues which might help locate other hostages, including the American Jill Carroll and two Germans, Thomas Nitzschke and Rene Braeunlich. A British official said there was no direct link between Mr Kember’s kidnappers and those holding Ms Carroll, but “it is possible the information might lead to other networks”.

The person quoted in this piece says that it appears the intent of the political motivated (insugrent) kidnap cell leaders was not to kill American Tom Fox.

The more senior members of the gang responsible for Mr Fox’s murder were part of one of the Islamist insurgent groups, either Jaish al-Mujahideen or al-Jabha al-Islamiya. The group made a series of political demands, in particular that the US and Britain release all prisoners held in Iraq. They threatened to kill the hostages if their demands were not met.

But the guards holding Mr Kember and his colleagues were part of a cell motivated by money rather than politics. “It’s a bit absurd that they consider themselves innocent, even though they were looking for money. They don’t see themselves as criminals,” the source said. “The guards were involved, which is why it was a soft operation. They played a significant role in allowing the authorities to find the hostages.”

He added: “The death of Fox changed the whole thing. Someone higher up the chain took him away. Because the ante had gone up and it had become more serious, it’s quite possible that the operation began to open up and they got nervous about the repercussion.” He said the “higher-ups” who took Mr Fox did not initially intend to kill him. Examination of his body found dumped by a road two weeks ago did not show signs of torture, as first reported, the source insisted. Nor did he seem to have been killed execution-style. It was more likely that there was a scuffle or an attempt to run away which led to his death.

The Independent looks at the chaos and balance of powers in Iraq’s capital city of 7.4 million, and why westerners have been hearing talk of civil war in - The Battle of Baghdad has already started.