The Iraqi army has declared victory in their battle to retake the city of Tikrit from the Islamic extremist group ISIS.

Troops are working to clear out the last pockets of terrorist support within the city but Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi went to the city and raised an Iraqi flag over the city’s center.

“Most of Tikrit today is liberated, only small parts remain [outside our control],” Interior Minister Mohammed al-Ghabban told reporters.

The Prime Minister attributed their success to taking the terrorist group by surprise.

“We managed to take (ISIS) by surprise,” the Prime Minister said. “And our air force … in addition to coalition air force, helping Iraqi forces, managed to deal severe blows to ISIS and the enemies of Iraq. And our ground forces with the blood of Iraqis, Iraqis alone with their own blood, were able to liberate this land.”

The battle for the hometown of Saddam Hussein has taken a month and been the biggest offensive against the terrorist outfit.  The attack had been stalled until the United States launched an air offensive against terrorist headquarters and weapons storage centers in the city.

The army now plans to focus on recapturing Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq.