Monday, October 16, 2006
Nationalist insurgents claim to have started talks with U.S.
Insurgency
Masked nationalist insurgents in Iraq told AFP they have begun talks with US forces, after a weekend meeting of Sunni tribal sheikhs called for the restoration of ousted leader Saddam Hussein. In the northern oil city of Kirkuk, an Iraqi calling himself Abdel Rahman Abu Khula said his movement, a group of former Baath party officials and army officers known as the Islamic Army, would not meet the Iraqi government. “In reality, we only negotiate with the ruling power in Iraq and that is the occupier,” he said. “Today it is us and the Americans who are controlling the situation in Iraq.” A US military spokesman had no immediate comment on the claim, which AFP cannot independently verify.
Abu Khula said his group represents some 17 nationalist insurgent organisations, and is seeking the withdrawal of US forces and the release of detainees from US and Iraqi government prisons. Abu Khula was at pains to distance his group, which is made up of largely secular former regime elements, from Islamist insurgent outfits such as Al Qaeda and Ansar Al Sunna, which are known for attacks targeting civilians.
Abu Khula said his group represents some 17 nationalist insurgent organisations, and is seeking the withdrawal of US forces and the release of detainees from US and Iraqi government prisons. Abu Khula was at pains to distance his group, which is made up of largely secular former regime elements, from Islamist insurgent outfits such as Al Qaeda and Ansar Al Sunna, which are known for attacks targeting civilians.
The leaders of many of the Sunni Arab tribes, which met on Sunday also criticised Al Qaeda and other religious groups for provoking divisions in the resistance and attacking members of their tribes.
