Officials said U.S. and Iraqi special forces captured a senior Al Qaida commander in Iraq. They said the commander was responsible for numerous bombings as well as storing anti-aircraft and other missiles for attacks on the U.S.-led coalition.

"Al Qaida in Iraq is on the run," U.S. military spokesman Maj. Winfield Danielson said. "Our operations are hampering their ability to terrorize the Iraqi people."

The unnamed Al Qaida operative was captured in a series of helicopter assault raids in the Baghdad area on Sept. 16. The operative was identified as the No. 2 member of the Abu Ghazwan network, responsible for criminal and insurgency strikes in the Taji area north of Baghdad.

Iraqi Army Scouts, advised by U.S. Special Operations Forces, captured the Al Qaida operative in wake of a series of Al Qaida strikes on Iraqi security forces. Officials said the detainee had directed attacks against those who joined the Iraqi police or Iraq Army in the area of Tarmiyah.

"His cell has attacked the Tarmiyah Regiment of the 9th Iraqi Army division, the 9th Oil Protection Division, guards at the Al Karkh water treatment plant and coalition Forces in the Taji area," the U.S. military said on Tuesday. "The cell is also suspected of distributing propaganda and installing illegal check points."

The Iraqi Army Scouts were said to have captured 18 suspected Al Qaida operatives northwest of Taji. Officials said three AK-47 assault rifles, three tactical assault vests and explosive components were seized during the operation, in which no Iraqi or U.S. soldiers were injured.

During the two-day operation west of Tarmiyah, which ended on Sept. 17, U.S. and Iraqi forces discovered a cache of explosive materials that contained hydrochloric acid and 19,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate. Both chemicals are commonly used in improvised explosive devices.

The operation came amid a U.S. Defense Department report that cited higher casualties in Iraq during July and August 2007. The report said Baghdad remained the most violent part of Iraq, but said attacks in the Anbar province dropped sharply.

Officials said the Abu Ghazwan network financed its attacks through criminal activities, including robberies, abduction and killings. They said the network was linked to the abduction of employees from the Nasser industrial plant.

"The cell provides salaries and materials for vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices to be used in the Baghdad area," the U.S. military said. "The cell is further suspected of storing and supplying weapons such as surface-to-air missiles, mortar rounds, mortar launchers, and heavy machine guns to be used in future terrorist attacks."

In Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi forces were reported to have captured a key Al Qaida operative. Officials said the unidentified operative worked for the Al Qaida commander responsible for southern Baghdad.

"Our assessment is right now they [Al Qaida] are very fractured," U.S. Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, chief of staff for Multinational Force-Iran, said. "And the ability for them to conduct large-scale sensational attacks has been greatly decreased."