Swords of Righteousness Brigades is a previously unknown Iraqi insurgent group that made headlines for claiming responsibility for the November 2005 kidnapping of four Christian peace activists. <P><br /><br />The four hostages worked for Christian Peacemaker Teams, an aid group that opposed the US invasion of Iraq.  The men were identified as Tom Fox from the United States, Norman Kember from Great Britain, and James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden from Canada. <P><br /><br />Over the course of several months the group released videos of the hostages and accused the four men of being spies.  At various times the group demanded the release of all Iraqi prisoners from US custody and the removal of US and British troops from the country or else the hostages would be killed.  Deadlines were set but were often extended or changed. <P><br /><br />The kidnapping of these men provoked great outrage throughout the world, including amongst Muslims.  Several prominent Muslim groups and clerics called for the release of the men, including Abu Qatada, an imprisoned cleric with alleged ties to al-Qaeda. <P><br /><br />In March 2006, after numerous deadline extensions, the body of Tom Fox was found in Baghdad.  He had been tortured and shot.  Although this raised fears for the fate of the other hostages, some two weeks later the remaining abductees were freed in a joint military operation in a town near Baghdad.  However, at the time of the operation, the Swords of Righteousness Brigades were apparently "nowhere to be seen," raising the possibility that ransom had been paid for the three men.  Despite Canadian and British denials, Sooden remarked after his release that it was "highly likely" that ransom had been given to his captors. <P><br /><a href="/prototype/incident.asp?id=26209"> For a comprehensive report on the kidnapping, see the full incident profile.</a> <P><br /><br /><br /><br />Despite demanding the removal of troops and the freeing of all Iraqi prisoners from custody, the Swords of Righteousness Brigades did not espouse any specific ideology or aims.  <P><br /><br />Kidnapping of foreigners is common in post-war Iraq, although the motives behind such abductions vary greatly. Sometimes the perpetrators have concrete demands, such as the removal of troops or the freeing of prisoners from U.S. custody. In other cases the perpetrators simply want to kill their hostage to invoke fear and to deter further foreign involvement.  Oftentimes the kidnapping is a simple criminal act in order to extract ransom money. <P><br /><br />Although this particular group did make concrete demands, it is likely that money was the motivating factor.  The complete removal of US troops is an unreasonable demand and was probably not expected to be met.  However, no evidence exists that ransom was paid and the actual motives of the Swords of Righteousness Brigades remain unknown.<br />