Sunni leaders back Shiite Al Maliki

Baghdad: Sunni tribal leaders who have vowed to drive Al Qaida out of Iraq's most restive province met the Shiite premier on Wednesday, marking what Washington hopes will be a breakthrough alliance against militants.

Sattar Al Buzayi, a Sunni shaikh from Anbar province who has emerged in recent weeks as a leader of a tribal alliance against Osama Bin Laden's followers, said he and about 15 other shaikhs had offered their cooperation to Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki.

"We agreed to cooperate," Buzayi told Reuters. "We haven't agreed to anything specific, but we agreed to cooperate."

Al Maliki's office issued a statement praising the chiefs for their commitment to fighting the militants.

"This is admired and respected by all Iraqis. We are fully prepared to back your efforts," said the prime minister.

It was the first time Al Maliki had met the shaikhs since they pledged to fight Al Qaida in a meeting at Buzayi's compound in Ramadi, the provincial capital, two weeks ago.

Al Qaida's Iraq branch has seized control of towns and villages throughout the Euphrates river valley along the 250km from Falluja, near Baghdad, to the Syrian border.

But their strict interpretation of Sunni Islam and violent rule has alienated traditional-minded Sunnis, including groups that have supported the insurgency against US forces.

The United States says its 30,000 troops in Anbar cannot defeat the insurgency on their own.