Iraq's interior minister has confirmed reports that Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi has been wounded.
Interior Minister Bayan Jabor told a news conference in Baghdad Thursday that he received information five days ago about al-Zarqawi's condition, but he did not say where the information came from.
The al-Qaida in Iraq militant group had said Tuesday that its leader, al-Zarqawi, had been injured in recent fighting.
Separately, Iraq's defense minister, Sadoun al-Dulaimi announced a massive security operation in Baghdad, in which some 40,000 Iraqi troops will be deployed to hunt down insurgents.
Earlier Thursday at least two Iraqi policemen and a civilian were killed in a car bomb blast in the capital. And the U.S. military said an Iraqi child was killed during clashes with insurgents in the town of Tal Afar, near Mosul. The military said insurgents had used the child as a human shield.