As some Iraqi Sunni insurgent groups report growing disaffection – and in some cases direct fighting – with Al Qaeda in Iraq, US and Iraqi officials are reaching out to former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party in an effort to turn them away from militantism and toward reconciliation.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the insurgent leaders said they disagreed with the tactics used by Al Qaeda in Iraq as well as its command structure, and that these divisions have led to skirmishes. The leader of a Baath Party insurgent group, the Iraqi Armed Forces, told the Times that the group had cut ties with Al Qaeda in September.

"Al Qaeda killed two of our best members, the Gen. Mohammed and Gen. Saab, in Ramadi, so we took revenge and now we fight Al Qaeda," said the group's spokesman, who called himself Abu Marwan.

In Diyala, the 1920 Revolution Brigade, a coalition of Islamists and former Baath Party military officers, is on the verge of cutting ties with Al Qaeda.

"In the past, we agreed in terms of the goal of resisting the occupation and expelling the occupation. We have some disagreements with Qaeda, especially about targeting civilians, places of worship, state civilian institutions and services," said a fighter with the brigade who identified himself with a nom de guerre, Haj Mahmoud abu Bakr.

"Now we reached a dead end and we disavow what Qaeda is doing. But until now, we haven't thought about fighting with them," he added. "We are counseling them, and in case they continue, we will cut off the aid and the logistical and intelligence support."

The New York Times reported Sunday that outgoing US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad held talks last year with representatives of "less radical" Iraqi insurgent groups in an effort to get them more involved in Iraqi politics and less aligned with "true militants" such as Al Qaeda. Although there had been reports in the past of such attempts to reach out to Sunni insurgents, the Times said Mr. Khalilzad is the first US official to publicly acknowledge them.

The meetings began in early 2006 and were quite possibly the first attempts at sustained contact between senior American officials here and the Sunni Arab insurgency. Mr. Khalilzad flew to Jordan for some of the talks, which included self-identified representatives of the Islamic Army of Iraq and the 1920 Revolution Brigades, two leading nationalist factions, American and Iraqi officials said. Mr. Khalilzad declined to give details on the meetings, but other officials said the efforts had foundered by the summer, after the bombing of a revered Shiite shrine in Samarra set off waves of sectarian violence.

Mr. Khalilzad's willingness even to approach rebel groups seemed at odds with the public position of some Bush administration officials that the United States does not negotiate with insurgents. It was not clear whether he had to seek permission from Washington before engaging in these talks. In general, Mr. Khalilzad was given great flexibility in making diplomatic decisions to try to rein in the spiraling violence, and his talks with insurgents reflected the practical view of Iraqi politics that the ambassador adopted throughout his nearly two-year tenure here.

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