NOURI AL-MALIKI, Iraq’s Prime Minister, offered insurgents an olive branch yesterday, announcing a 24-point reconciliation plan that aims to lure rebel groups back into mainstream society.

“The plan is open to all those who want to enter the political process to build their country and save their people, as long as they did not commit crimes,” Mr Maliki told MPs.

“To those who want to reconcile, we extend our hand with an olive branch to build our nation. To those who insist on aggression, terror and killing, we will confront them with firmness to protect our people.”

The text was, however, a watered down version of the document shown to The Times on Thursday. Iraq’s presidency council and representatives from the Shia ruling coalition cut the document from 28 to 24 articles on Saturday night, said Faisal Abdullah, a spokesman for Khalid al-Attiyah, the Shia deputy speaker.

Noticeably missing from the final draft was a call for the Government to recognise the difference between resistance and terrorist groups and a written invitation for resistance groups to join a national dialogue.

The new wording reads only: “To adopt a credible national dialogue in dealing with all the different views and political positions that are opposing the views and positions of the Government and the political powers . . .”

In a gruesome reminder of how far there is to go in resolving the conflict, an al-Qaeda-led group released a video yesterday showing the execution of three men it said were Russian diplomats taken hostage earlier this month. Two were apparently beheaded and one shot.

The published plan also removed a demand for the Government to agree upon a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign forces based on the readiness of Iraqi troops.

It dropped a pledge to revisit the constitution and cut a clause on reinstating employees who had jobs in ministries that had been dissolved under the US-occupation.

The last minute revisions reflected the tensions surrounding the document and the severe mistrust among Iraq’s communities. Some Shia politicians denounced the campaign to reach out to Sunni rebels.

“We should know the resistance we are talking about. All of the groups I’ve heard about are targeting Iraqi forces. They are criminals. I can’t see who are the resistance,” Ali al-Deeb, a member of Mr Maliki’s own Dawa party, told The Times.

Nonetheless, some Government officials were still championing a far-reaching amnesty for insurgents and a timeline for the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces. Haidar al-Abadi, a Dawa politician who is close to Mr Maliki, told The Times that a conditions-based timetable linking the training of Iraqi forces to the pullout of foreign troops was still on the table.

“I think there is pressure to put a timetable on when Iraqi security forces should be ready. And by that time, we will ask the multinational forces to reduce their numbers, and then they should withdraw from Iraq,” he said. A withdrawal date is one of the main demands of Sunni insurgents not attached to ultra-radical groups like al-Qaeda.

Sunni politicians still endorsed the document despite the gutting of the language. Adnan al-Dulaimi, the Sunni leader, told parliament that the initiative “will be the first step in achieving security and stability then start building the new Iraq”.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the American envoy to Iraq, called the plan a good step “to mend Iraq’s wounds”.

On the ground, Iraq’s day-to-day carnage raged on. Eighteen people were reported killed in car bombings and shootings across Iraq on Sunday and 16 Government employees were kidnapped north of Baghdad.

Times Recommends

• A doctor, a daughter and a man called Johnny
• Mona Lisa's smile may have belied ill health
• ‘Parasite economy’ lies behind Greek tragedy