Iraq hostages 'were saved by rift among kidnappers'

[deminks]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1739343,00.html

The British hostage Norman Kember and his two Canadian colleagues owe their freedom to a rift among the Iraqi kidnappers, a western security source close to the rescue operation said yesterday.

The source said their guards got cold feet when more senior and ruthless members of the group turned up at the house in Baghdad and took away a fourth hostage, Mr Kember's American colleague Tom Fox, and shot him dead.

Although Tony Blair, the defence secretary, John Reid, and the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, praised the bravery of the British forces and months of intelligence work required to secure their release, 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.

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."

[Lisa]

1. I wondered if there had been some dissent among the kidnappers

First, the timing of the events (successful rescue only a couple of weeks after Mr. Fox's murder). And it seemed like there had been such a disparity in the treatment of the hostages -- the Canadians were shown being given sweets, while Mr. Fox had been done to death so brutally. Almost as if there were 2 different groups of people at work.

p.s. on correction -- so it looks like he wasn't tortured after all. This has an odd similarity with the FLQ kidnappings in Quebec, more than 35 years ago ... the man who was killed (a French-Canadian politician) apparently died in a scuffle during a possible escape attempt.

[daleo]

2. I assumed something like this happened

It wasn't really a rescue - more of a "Saving Private Jessica Lynch" story, since the kidnappers essentially decided to quit the kidnapping. It still made sense to use the form of a military rescue, just in case there was an ambush planned. But, as usual, the propaganda organs of the governments and press wanted to turn it into something that it really wasn't.