Kurdish forces backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes drove Islamic State militants out of 10 villages in Iraq's Kirkuk province on Wednesday in an offensive to secure their territory in the north, Kurdish military sources said.

The assault began at dawn in the Daquq area, around 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad. By evening, Kurdish forces had taken an area of around 24 sq. km, the sources said.

The Kurdistan region's security council said up to 2,000 peshmerga had participated in the attack and dozens of Islamic State fighters were killed.