American officials held secret talks in Iraq with the commanders of several Iraqi "insurgent groups" recently in an attempt to open a dialogue with them, a British newspaper reported Sunday.
The commanders "apparently came face to face" with four U.S. officials during meetings on June 3 and June 13 at a summer villa near Balad, about 25 miles north of Baghdad, The Sunday Times reported.
It said neither the Iraqi government nor U.S. officials in Baghdad would confirm its report about the talks.
The story, which quoted unidentified Iraqis whose groups were purportedly involved in the talks, said those at the first meeting included Ansar al-Sunnah Army, which has claimed responsibility for suicide bombings in Iraq and an attack that killed 22 people in the dining hall of a U.S. base at Mosul last Christmas.
Two others were Jaish Mohammed, or Mohammed's Army, and the Islamic Army in Iraq, which in August reportedly killed Italian journalist Enzo Baldoni, the newspaper said.
One of the Americans at the talks introduced himself as a Pentagon representative and declared himself ready to "find ways of stopping the bloodshed on both sides and to listen to demands and grievances," the paper said.
It also said the official indicated that the results of the talks would be relayed to his superiors in Washington.
The U.S. officials tried to gather information about the structure, leadership and operations of the groups, which irritated some members, who had been told the talks would consider their main demand, a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq, the report said.
© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
