ISIS attacked to the strategic village of Sultan Abdullah, which extremists have targeted repeatedly in the past two months.

The bloody assault came just a day after U.S. officials revealed they are planning a 25,000-soldier invasion of Mosul - which was seized by militants last June - in as little as six weeks.But Iraq's defence minister criticised the U.S. for declaring a timeframe for the offensive, saying military commanders should not show their hand to the enemy.

A spokesman for the Kurdistan Democratic Party's Foreign Relations Office told MailOnline: 'ISIS militants have attacked Peshmerga frontlines twice in the last three days in the heights of Sultan Abdulla and on the Makhmour front, Daily Mail reports.

'In each case the militants were defeated, and repulsed in such a way they reportedly left behind 60 bodies.'

A statement on the Kurdistan Democratic Party's website today added at least 50 terrorists bodies were found on just one front after last night's fighting.

'The terrorists launched overnight attacks on our units in three areas', it said. 'The Peshmerga forces confronted them strongly and with extermination.

'This was the eighth attack by terrorists [of its kind], and each one has had worse luck than its predecessor.'

Mosul is the largest city in northern Iraq and has become one of the key strongholds for ISIS.