CAIRO — Algeria has intensified operations against Al Qaida in the east.

The Algerian Army has deployed attack helicopters and artillery to pound suspected Al Qaida positions near Algiers. Officials said the military operation was targeting Al Qaida strongholds in the forest of Tizi Ghanif, about 100 kilometers east of Algiers.

"We have been tracking Al Qaida movements in this area for months," a security source said.

The latest operation began on Jan. 19 and continued through Tuesday, Middle East Newsline reported. Officials said the attacks in the Tizi Ouzou province have been conducted by the National Popular Army near Boghni.

So far, the Algerian military has reported the destruction of several Al Qaida strongholds and the capture of supplies and propaganda. Officials said many of the Al Qaida fighters were fleeing the area.

Authorities were also searching for a woman said to be a member of the new Al Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb. The woman was identified as Afaf Kbayeli, a 30-year-old from Algiers who was also known as Hanane.

An official said Ms. Kbayeli was believed to have been recruited for a suicide bombing in the Algerian capital. He said the female operative was being trained in an Al Qaida camp in the east.

"Al Qaida was likely to have changed its strategy and recruited women for suicide attacks because of intensified security measures in Algiers and other big cities," an Algerian security analyst told the Algerian daily Echorouk.