Washington is expanding its ties and contacts with Iraqi opposition groups in its determination to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, a prestigious American daily reported Monday.

A secret and unpublicized meeting took place last month in Germany between a high-ranking Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official and the leaders of two Kurdish parties based in the northern part of Iraq, which allied with the U.S. following the Gulf War, sources familiar with the meeting told the Washington Post.

The meeting, which was also attended by retired U.S. general Wayne A. Downing, the White House's deputy national security advisor for combating terrorism, was in the framework of U.S. efforts to develop relations with Iraqi opposition groups in addition to the London-based Iraqi National Congress (INC), which some American officials said has been distancing itself from other dissident groups and figures.

"We've really broadened our scope of contacts," the paper quoted a State Department official as saying. "We are not trying to replace the INC... We are trying to move outside it, beyond it."

The meeting in Germany with Kurdish leaders Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani focused on the military and intelligence capabilities of the Kurdish parties and the Kurds' insistence on U.S. guarantees for their protection if they come under attack by Saddam Hussein's forces, the sources added. When Kurdish forces rose against the Iraqi leader following the 1991 Gulf War with the expectation of U.S. backing, they were strongly crushed. The two parties currently control northern Iraq in an uneasy partnership under the protection of the "no-fly" zone patrolled by U.S. and British aircraft.

A White House official refused to confirm or deny any meeting held by Downing, but said, "We intend to continue our discussions with various groups and individuals who are working toward a free and democratic Iraq."

While the Bush administration remains divided on how to achieve the ousting of Hussein from power, The Washington Post said the timetable for a possible U.S. military strike against Iraq was not envisaged until at least next winter.