WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (Xinhuanet)-- American officials are talking with Iraqi insurgent leaders to exploit a rift that has opened between home-grown insurgents and radical groups like Al Qaida, and to draw the local leaders into the political process, the New York Times reported Saturday.

   Clashes between Iraqi groups and Al Qaida have broken out in several cities across the Sunni Triangle, including Taji, Yusefiya, Qaim and Ramadi, and they appear to have intensified in recent months, the newspaper quoted an unidentified Western diplomat as saying.

   The diplomat, who on Friday had an interview with Iraqi insurgents and with U.S. and Iraqi officials, said the Americans had opened face-to-face discussions with insurgents in the field, and that they were communicating with senior insurgent leaders through intermediaries.

   The diplomat said the goal was to take advantage of rifts in the insurgency, particularly between local groups, whose main goal is to expel American forces, and the more radical groups, like Al Qaida, which have alienated many Iraqis by the mass killing of Iraqi civilians.

   The talks, which the diplomat said were taking place "inside and outside Iraq," began in the fall, around the time of the referendum on the new Iraqi constitution on Oct. 15.

   American officials had made contact with insurgent groups before, but the diplomat described the new engagement as much more significant. The effort comes as political leaders await the results of the Dec. 15 election, which will determine the shape of the next government.

   The diplomat said the talks were aimed at taking advantage of a new willingness to take part in politics among Sunni Arabs, who went to the polls in large numbers for the first time.

   Their full participation is seen as an essential step in quelling the insurgency, which is led mostly by radical Sunni Arabs. Enditem