Sunni Arab leaders formed an alliance to fight Iraq's next elections on Wednesday, as the US death toll marched past 2,000 and intensified pressure on Washington.
Three Sunni parties joined a coalition to contest the December 15 parliamentary poll, after fierce Sunni opposition narrowly failed to veto a new, US-backed constitution in a referendum.
"We call upon all Iraqis to participate actively in the elections and not listen to calls for boycotts because they are harmful," the new alliance, called the Iraqi Accord Front, said in a statement.
The alliance of the Iraqi People's Gathering, the Iraqi Islamic Party and the Iraqi National Dialogue was the clearest sign yet that some Sunnis are turning to the ballot box after boycotting Iraq's last parliamentary vote in January.
US and Iraqi officials are likely to welcome the move, but it is not clear if the group has much sway over hard-line Sunni insurgents waging a bloody campaign against the Shia and Kurdish-led government and the US occupying force protecting it.
The US military, which on Tuesday marked the 2,000th American death since the 2003 invasion, on Wednesday announced another soldier had died, in a vehicle accident in southern Iraq.
The rise of the US death toll has piled pressure on President George W. Bush to show progress in Iraq, with growing numbers of US voters sceptical about the direction of the war. The referendum result is one boost for Washington, opening the way for an election US planners hope will mark Iraq's emergence as a stable ally capable of handling its own security, removing the need for US troops.
Much depends on whether Sunnis - who represent about 20 percent of the population - are brought on board under a deal, brokered by US diplomats days before the referendum, which opens the constitution to amendment by the new parliament.
Sunnis turned out in large numbers to vote against the constitution this month, but failed to muster the two-thirds majority "No" in at least three provinces necessary to veto the measure. Two provinces reached the mark; a third fell short.
Some Sunni leaders said their failure to block the constitution, which many fear hands permanent control of much of Iraq to the Shi'ite majority and its Kurdish allies, would spur a new political campaign to force Washington to withdraw.
"Our political programme will focus more on getting the Americans out of Iraq," Hussein al-Falluji, a prominent Sunni who took part in talks on the constitution, told Reuters. "Our message to the American administration is clear: get out of Iraq or set a timetable for withdrawal or the resistance will keep slaughtering your soldiers until Judgement Day."
With a Friday deadline looming for parties and electoral coalitions to register on the ballot paper for the December 15 vote, Sunni leaders hope to develop a coherent political strategy although deep rivalries may undercut unity.
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