Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld acknowledged Sunday that U.S. officials have met with some insurgents, and said it might take as long as 12 years to quell the insurgency.

Al-Samarie told The Associated Press in early June that two insurgent groups — the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Army of Mujahedeen — were willing to negotiate with the Iraqi government, possibly opening a new political front in the country.

Separately, U.S. and Iraqi troops launched Operation Sword on Tuesday in communities along the Euphrates River, their third major anti-insurgency campaign in the volatile western Anbar province.

The campaigns have failed to stem a Sunni-dominated insurgency that has killed around 1,370 people — mostly civilians and Iraqi forces — since al-Jaafari announced his Shiite-dominated government April 28.

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Associated Press writers Mariam Fam, Bushra Juhi, Jalal Mudhar, Hamid Ahmed and Murtadha Abdul Karim contributed to this report.