"Makhmur and Altun Kupri have fallen," said Mustafa Kakamin, commander for the Arbil region, told AFP in reference to the two towns located some 20 kilometres (12 miles) northeast of Kirkuk.

Kurdish peshmerga fighters entered Altun Kupri at 9:00 am (0500 GMT) and were greeted by a jubiliant crowd, according to a member of the Kurdish forces. US special forces had entered the town two hours before.

Artillery rounds could be heard in the Altun Kutri region on Thursday morning, an AFP correspondent reported.

Makhmur, halfway between Mosul and Kirkuk, was taken over by US-Kurdish forces without a fight, according to the US military.

"We will now head to Dibis," said Kakamin. Dibis is on a road parallel to the one that links Altun Kupri with Kirkuk.

Kirkuk and the other main northern city of Mosul are still controlled by forces loyal to Saddam Hussein's toppled regime and are the main objectives of the three-week-old joint coalition and Kurdish rebel military push in northern Iraq.

SPACE.WIRE