BAGHDAD — Iraq’s armed forces backed by U.S.-led coalition air power captured a village in Nineveh province from ISIS on Wednesday, the first advance on the northern front since the offensive was paused three weeks ago.

Mahana, sitting south of a main east-west road, became just the fourth village seized by the army in the Makhmour area, which is set to be a staging ground for a future assault on Mosul, about 40 miles further north.

The advance brings Iraqi forces slightly closer to the oil town of Qayyara on the western banks of the Tigris River, control over which would help to isolate Mosul, the largest city held by the militants, from territory they control further south and east.

The offensive’s faltering start has cast renewed doubt on the capabilities of the Iraqi army, which partially collapsed when Islamic State seized around a third of the country in 2014.

Iraqi officials say they will retake Mosul this year but, in private, many question whether that is possible.