HAJ ALI, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi forces are assaulting villages far south of Mosul in the Nineveh province, attempting to clear rural areas of Islamic State fighters who stayed behind to hinder their advance.

Several hundred fighters from the army, state-sanctioned Shiite militias and paramilitary federal police massed in the village of Haj Ali on Tuesday, firing mortars at IS positions in the villages of Shayala Abali and Shayala Ayma, 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Iraq's second largest city.

Dust obscured the view as a column of Humvees advanced on the villages across an open field, firing heavy machine guns and backed by mortars.

The government last month launched a massive campaign to retake Mosul, captured by IS in 2014. It is the extremist group's last major urban center in Iraq.