Army gains ground against IS

Iraqi troops advanced against Islamic State south of Mosul on Sunday as the US-led coalition intensified its campaign against the militants on multiple fronts across their self-proclaimed caliphate.

Officers involved in the operation said Iraqi forces had moved toward the village of Haj Ali in tanks and armored vehicles under cover of coalition airstrikes and artillery fire, capturing another village on the way.

"In the beginning they resisted but when they saw the force they withdrew," said an Iraqi officer speaking from the newly recaptured village of Kharaib Jabr, adjacent to Haj Ali.