Evolving loyalties in Anbar province have provided the US with marked successes in the fight against Al Qaeda in Iraq, as local tribes and militias rebelled against the extreme tactics and radical conservatism of AQ's brand of Islam and joined with American forces to combat the group.

But a representative of the Islamic Army of Iraq (IAI), which openly broke ranks with Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in April 2007, now says that the two groups have signed a ceasefire, and warns that the appearance of recent success is about to be reversed.

In an interview with the Sunday Times of London, IAI representative Ibrahim al-Shammari expressed resentment that the US claimed the division of IAI and AQI represented a victory for the US.

“We’ve had big problems with Al-Qaeda ever since they began targeting and killing our men,” he said. “Eventually we had to fight back, but we found American troops were exploiting the situation by spreading rumours that exacerbated the conflict.”

“Bush foolishly announced to the world that all the Sunnis in Iraq were fighting Al-Qaeda so he could claim to have achieved a great victory,” Shammari said. “It’s nonsense.”

Though IAI militants may have participated in anti-AQI operations in Anbar, the Islamic Army refused to participate as a whole unless the US accepted the “Islamic resistance” as the legitimate representative of the Iraqi people and agreed to set a clear timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.

Shammari admits Al Qaeda in Iraq has lost support, explaining, "They tyrannised people and killed and assaulted tribal leaders," but still he says IAI has signed a ceasefire with the group and agreed to separate areas of influence where AQI and IAI could operate independently without interfering with each other.

IAI is considering undertaking a new campaign of taking foreigners hostage to mark their resurgence of militancy. “Every foreigner in Iraq is a potential target for us no matter what his nationality or religion,” Shammari said. “If he is proven to be a spy, he will be punished and an Islamic court will determine his fate.”

The purpose of taking hostages would not be to kill them, he added. “We want western governments to listen to the Iraqi people and stop supporting the occupation by sending their citizens to Iraq.”