Officials said Iraqi and U.S. military units have intensified operations in and around Baghdad to prevent the flow of insurgents and weapons into the capital. Over the last four days, the military has launched offensives against Al Qaida in Anbar, Baghdad, Diyala and Mosul.

The latest offensive, launched on Tuesday, was in Baqubah in the Diyala province and targeted Al Qaida strongholds, Middle East Newsline reported. Dubbed Operation Arrowhead Ripper, Iraqi and U.S. forces killed 22 suspected Al Qaida insurgents in Baqubah. The operation was led by the U.S. Army's Infantry Division's 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, which conducted an air assault before dawn.

[The U.S. operations have not stopped mass-casualty strikes by Al Qaida. On Tuesday, at least 87 people were killed when an Al Qaida suicide bomber rammed his truck into a Shi'ite mosque in Baghdad.]

Officials said 10,000 soldiers, supported by attack helicopters, Strykers and Bradley fighting vehicles, were participating in Arrowhead Ripper. They said the operation, said to have killed at least 30 Al Qaida insurgents, was facilitated by a new operations center that covers the entire Diyala province.

"One of the keys as we initiate combat actions and operations here is the newly formed Diyala Operations Center," Bednarek said. "It serves as an integration center that will coordinate all activities in Diyala -- the police, the army and coalition forces from Task Force Lightning."

Over the weekend, the U.S. military launched a separate operation against Al Qaida south of Baghdad. On Tuesday, Iraqi and U.S. forces have been raiding suspected strongholds and captured an alleged associate of senior Al Qaida leaders in Baghdad.

"When the enemy chooses not to engage us, in the areas they consider sanctuaries, it shows us that the enemy fears us," said 1st Lt. Josh Powers, assigned to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. "It also shows the local population that we will protect them."

The U.S. military has also been operating against Al Qaida in the Anbar province near the Syrian border. Officials reported the capture of six insurgents associated with the Al Qaida leadership. Two other operations were reported in the northern city of Mosul.

"Our continued pressure on the leaders and operatives of the Al Qaida network is denying them breathing space in Iraq," U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said. "The crumbling network has no place in the future of Iraq."