The almost 15km advance by the US-backed Kurdish militia was unchallenged but slowed by dense minefields left by Saddam Hussein's troops, according to Ares Abdullah, a Kurdish commander. 

It was the third significant shift since Thursday in the front line separating Iraqi forces from the Kurds. Overnight on Sunday, coalition forces bombed Iraqi positions along the demarcation line, while Kirkuk and Mosul - the two main northern cities under Baghdad rule - have come under relentless attack from US warplanes. 

Each Iraqi move since last week has allowed Kurds to move closer to Kirkuk - the nation's second-largest oil-producing region and considered by Kurds as an essential part of their ethnic lands. 

In the hill country south of Taqtaq - about 55km southeast of the Kurdish administrative capital, Erbil -- Kurdish forces can clearly see the glow of Kirkuk and its oil fields about 24km away. 

"Our goal is now closer," Mr Abdullah said. 

The reason for the Iraqi repositioning is unclear. But Kurdish commanders believe Iraqi troops have been seriously battered and need reinforcements. 

Iraq could also be rearranging units because the Pentagon apparently does not yet have enough strength in the Western-protected Kurdish zone for a ground assault. Plans for a northern offensive were crippled after Turkey refused to allow US troops to cross the border. 

The Kurdish advance in the Taqtaq region came less than 24 hours after its forces fell back along another front: conceding more than 18km along the main road from Erbil to Kirkuk. Iraqi gunners have now dug in just outside Altun Kupri, also known as Perdeh, about 45km from Kirkuk. 

Kurdish fighters spent yesterday clearing mines and poking through abandoned Iraqi posts. They carried away war souvenirs and anything with possible value: insulated electrical cables, helmets, vintage gas masks and casings from anti-aircraft artillery. 

The Iraqi outposts seemed little more than rough camps. Small cinderblock and mud shelters dotted a clearing. 

At one site less than 2km from the new Iraqi line, the military jetsam included lists of patrol schedules, times of radio blackout periods and authorisation to fix communications equipment. 

Other items were more intriguing: a mud-encrusted dress shoe and a small wooden sign covered with shiny red "Happy Birthday" wrapping paper that could have been an identification symbol. 

In what appeared to be the commander's quarters, a sign advised, "Forgiveness is the greatest revenge."