A Sunni Arab politician has claimed that two insurgent groups are willing to negotiate with the Iraqi government, with a view to joining the political process.
The former Cabinet minister said he had established contact with the groups which account for a large part of the Sunni insurgents and who have conducted attacks against Iraqis and foreigners, including assassinations and kidnappings.
Former electricity minister Mr Ayham al-Samarie told journalists yesterday that the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Army of Mujahedeen - or holy warriors - were ready to open talks with the Shia-led government.
It was the first public disclosure that such negotiations might be in the offing with specific groups, but independent confirmation was not possible. The Iraqi government declined comment.
The claim appears consistent with comments from a senior Shia legislator, Mr Hummam Hammoudi, who said last week that the Iraqi government had opened indirect channels of communication with some insurgent groups.
Mr Al-Samarie, an Illinois Institute of Technology graduate who holds dual US and Iraqi citizenship, said the two groups represent more than 50 percent of the "resistance."
US military officials believe about 12,000 to 20,000 fighters, including supporters, make up the insurgency.
Al-Samarie said he began contacting insurgent political leaders about five months ago. He did not meet any field commanders, he said, but would not name those he contacted or say who else joined in the meetings.
"Guns will not solve the problem. Guns never solved any problems; it's always politics that solves problems," he said. "How can they (the government) solve the problem without talking to the resistance? The resistance exists and everyone knows it exists."
Al-Samarie said he told the insurgent leaders they had to "come out to the political arena."
"We told them that 'no one knows what you want,'" he said, speaking in his home in an upscale Baghdad neighborhood. "'You say you want the occupier to leave Iraq but what do you want after that? You must have a political agenda.'"
The insurgent leaders agreed "that the time has come for them to come out," al-Samarie said.
AP