(Updates with quote, background)

BAGHDAD, Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed 60 militants, seized dozens of weapons caches and detained 193 suspects during the first week of a major offensive against al Qaeda in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said.

The military said one of the weapons caches had been found in an underground bunker complex with several rooms in volatile Diyala province north of Baghdad, a religiously mixed area that is a hotbed of al Qaeda activity.

The offensive in four northern provinces is part of a larger countrywide operation targeting al Qaeda, which the U.S. military has identified as the greatest single threat to Iraq's security.

At least nine U.S. soldiers have died since the operation was launched on Jan. 8. (Baghdad newsroom; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)

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