A family of 12 was killed by Islamic State militants in the northern Iraq village of al-Farahatiyah on Saturday, officials said.

Ammar Hekmat, the deputy governor of the Salahuddin province, said women and children were killed in the attack. It was not immediately clear why the family was targeted.

"We're not sure if one of the family members was a police officer, but ISIS has a presence in desert areas like Salahuddin, Mosul and Diyala," an Iraqi intelligence official said. "They carry out attacks in villages outside the cities to scare families and remind them they are still there."

Iraqi forces have driven ISIS militants from virtually all the territory it once controlled, but the group has continued to carry out targeted and sporadic attacks, mostly on security forces.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.