A Kurdish peshmerga looks at the body of what they say is an Islamic State militant on the outskirts of Tel Ward , west of the city of Kirkuk after attacking jihadist positions around the oil-rich city . Kurdish forces drove Islamic State militants back from the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Monday , in an attack which was backed by heavy air strikes from a U.S.-led coalition . Speaking to a local TV channel near the frontline , Kirkuk governor Najmaldin Karim said the purpose of the offensive was to secure the city , which the Kurds have held since last summer . Peshmerga fighters began shelling Islamic State positions at dawn before advancing along a 20-mile front southwest of the city , seizing several villages and gaining around three miles in places . Monday 's gains bring the Peshmerga closer to the ISIS stronghold of Hawijah , where black-clad militants have paraded the bodies of what they said were 20 Shi'ite militiamen they had executed . Speaking by telephone from the frontline near Tel Ward , Major-General Omar Saleh Hassan said : 'This morning we launched an attack on three axes . Our advances are continuing . ' He said his forces faced little resistance from Islamic State militants who are also fighting to hold the city of Tikrit around 110 km southwest of Kirkuk , as Iraqi forces close in . Just north of Tikrit , home city of executed Sunni former president Saddam Hussein , Iraqi security forces and Shi'ite militia fighters began an offensive to regain control over the town of al-Alam . Military commanders said some of the attacking force were ferried across from the west bank of the Tigris river , while others were approaching from other directions . 'We have confirmed information from inside Al-Alam that a few Daesh ( ISIS ) fighters are still inside , mostly suiciders . 'This is why we attacked them from multiple directions in order not to give them time to catch their breath , ' Al-Alam mayor Laith al-Jubouri said , referring to the fighters by their Arabic acronym . Jubouri , who has spent time with the attacking forces outside Al-Alam , said clashes were continuing in the south , west and north of the town . In the Kirkuk offensive , elite Kurdish counter-terrorism units were taking part and one official said they had managed to detonate four vehicles rigged with explosives by firing on them from a distance . Scroll down for video . Kurdish Peshmerga forces gather as they look at bodies whom they say are Islamic State militants . Kurdish forces drove Islamic State militants back from the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq on Monday in an attack which was backed by heavy air strikes from a U.S.-led coalition . The Kurds took full control of Kirkuk last August as the Iraqi army collapsed in the north and Islamic State militants overran almost a third of the country . But the city has remained vulnerable , with the frontline no more than 20 kilometres away in some places and only an irrigation canal separating the two sides . In late January , Islamic State briefly overran Kurdish defences around Kirkuk . Revenge is sweet : Kurdish Peshmerga fighters pose for a photo holding an Islamic State flag in the village of Sultan Mari west of the city of Kirkuk after they re-took the area from the terror group . Kurdish Peshmerga forces walk past a destroyed building belonging to the Islamic State militants , on the outskirts of Tel Ward , west of the city of Kirkuk . Meanwhile , officials said the jihadist group executed 20 people who wanted to fight against them in the northern Iraqi province of Kirkuk . The killings of the men , who wanted to join anti-ISIS paramilitary forces known as Popular Mobilisation units , took place in the town of Hawijah , a police intelligence officer and two local officials said . The executions could not be independently confirmed , but a gruesome series of photos posted online and shared on social media are evidence that they took place . Kirkuk governor Najim Al-deen Omar visits the Peshmerga forces on the border city which has been recaptured from ISIS . Kirkuk has remained vulnerable to attack , with the frontline no more than 20 kilometres away in some places and only an irrigation canal separating the two sides . The photos show the bodies of more than a dozen different men strung by their feet from light poles , what appears to be a communications or electricity tower , and under a massive sign featuring the ISIS flag and name . Captions under the photos said the men were members of the Popular Mobilisation units and used a derogatory term that could either refer to the units ' Shi'ite leadership , or indicate that the men were believed to be Shi'ites . ISIS spearheaded a sweeping offensive last June that overran large parts of the country north and west of Baghdad , including in Kirkuk province . Peshmerga forces take up positions in a town west of Kirkuk city after they regained the area from ISIS militants . Monday 's gains bring the Peshmerga , pictured , closer to the ISIS stronghold of Hawijah , where militants have paraded bodies through the streets . Security forces backed by militia are battling to regain ground , with support from a US-led coalition and Iran . The Popular Mobilisation units -- which are dominated by Shi'ite militia but include other volunteers , including Sunnis - have played a key role in the fight , shoring up the government 's flagging troops . But Shi'ite militiamen have also been accused of carrying out atrocities targeting Sunni Arabs in areas retaken from ISIS .
Kurds launch massive offensive backed by strikes from U.S.-led coalition . Gained swathes of land southwest of the city after seizing several villages . Brings them near ISIS stronghold of Hawijah where jihadis killed 20 militia . Men reportedly strung by their feet from light poles under Islamic State flag .