BAGHDAD — Kurdish forces who have launched an offensive to retake Sinjar from ISIS militants expect to enter and clear the northern Iraqi town soon, the Kurdistan regional security council said on Thursday.

More than 58 square miles have been seized from the extremist group and dozens of bodies of its fighters were left behind in a retreat from parts of Sinjar, it added.

Reuters could not independently confirm this account but Kurdish commanders near the frontline seemed confident and morale among fighters was high.

Backed by U.S.-led coalition air strikes, Kurdish peshmerga fighters reached Sinjar from the east and west, the council said.

The Kurds launched the operation in the early morning designed to cordon off Sinjar, take control of strategic routes and establish a buffer zone to protect the town from artillery.

A victory in Sinjar could give the Kurds, government forces and Shi’a militias critical momentum in efforts to defeat ISIS, which controls large areas of Iraq and Syria and has affiliates in Libya and Egypt.

So far the Kurds have captured several villages and taken up positions along Highway 47, a supply route between Raqqa in Syria and the Iraqi city of Mosul, the main ISIS bastions.