Kerry says "absolutely confident" Sinjar liberated in days

Members of the Kurdish peshmerga forces gather in the town of Sinjar, Iraq November 13, 2015. REUTERS/Ari Jalal

TUNIS (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday the U.S. administration was "absolutely confident" Sinjar would be liberated in days after Kurdish forces, backed by U.S. air strikes, launched an offensive against Islamic State militants there. "There are some entrenched IS fighters, but we are absolutely confident that over the next days Sinjar will be able to be liberated," Kerry said during a visit to Tunis. Kurdish forces said they had secured strategic facilities in the northern Iraqi town on Friday as part of an action that could provide critical momentum in efforts to defeat the jihadist group. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom; writing by Patrick Markey; editing by John Stonestreet)