MOSUL, Iraq: An Iraqi officer said Thursday that the army is pushing into villages held by ISIS north of Mosul.

Lt. Col. Diya Lafta says troops from his 9th Division began advancing toward two villages just north of the city on Thursday morning and "after a few hours they were liberated" from ISIS militants.

By afternoon, the village of Shereikhan had been largely freed of ISIS but fighting continued in the villages beyond.

The push along the northern edge of Iraq's second largest city comes after Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi earlier this week declared Mosul's eastern half to be completely free of ISIS.

Iraqi forces launched the massive operation to retake Mosul in October.

ISIS still firmly controls Mosul's west, where U.N. estimates that some 750,000 civilians are still living.