Iraq's military says its forces have detained more than 1,000 suspects in an ongoing offensive aimed at defeating al-Qaida militants in the northern city of Mosul.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki returned to the nation's capital, Baghdad, today Saturday after spending several days in Mosul overseeing the operation. While there, he opened a new high-tech military command post designed to assist the Iraqi army in the current offensive.

The commander of operations for Ninawa province says military officials have praised the offensive as one of the military's most successful to date. Mosul is considered the last major urban stronghold of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Separately, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Baghdad today on a previously unannounced visit for talks with U.S. and Iraqi officials.

Pelosi is a senior figure in the Democratic party and a key critic of President Bush's war policy in Iraq.

In violence today, Iraqi police say a female suicide bomber wounded at least 15 people at a checkpoint in the town of Baquba, north of Baghdad. Police say the checkpoint was run by a U.S.-backed neighborhood patrol.