Iraqi Kurdish forces widen buffer around oil-rich city of Kirkuk

Kurdish peshmerga forces sit on top of a tank on the outskirts of Kirkuk April 18, 2015. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed

ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Kurdish authorities said their forces, backed by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, drove Islamic State militants from an 84 square kilometre (32 sq mile) area in northern Iraq over the weekend, widening a buffer around the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

The Kurdistan region's security council said in a statement at least 35 insurgents had been killed by its peshmerga forces in the offensive south of Kirkuk, which began on Saturday on two fronts.