Isis’ last urban stronghold in Iraq has been recaptured, the Iraqi military has said.

The town of Hawija and surrounding area were declared as freed from the jihadists’ rule for the first time since 2014, a statement on Thursday said.

“The army’s ninth armoured division, the Federal Police, the Emergency Response division and.... Popular Mobilisation Units liberated Hawija,” said joint operations commander, Lieutenant-General Abdul Ameer Rasheed Yarallah.

Footage shows Isis schoolgirl Linda Wenzel being captured in Iraq

A total of 196 militants were killed and 96 villages around the town were liberated during the fighting, he added.

US-backed Iraqi government troops and Iranian-trained Shia militias known as the Popular Mobilisation Units began the offensive on 21 September.

The UN estimated 78,000 people were trapped in Hawija and surrounding villages under Isis control. Thousands of civilians braved mines, Isis sniper fire and US-led coalition air strikes to flee the fighting.

In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Show all 11 1 /11 In pictures: Isis' weapons factories In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A mortar round fin manufactured by Isis in Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis rocket components discovered in Gogjali, Mosul, Iraq in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis mortars discovered near Karamlais, Iraq, in November 2016 CAR In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis rocket launch frame in Qaraqosh, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A memo from Isis' COSQC on quality control at a manufacturing facility in Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Electrically-operated initiators manufactured by Isis in forces Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis mortar tubes at a manufacturing facility in Karamlais, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis mortar production facility discovered in Gogjali, Mosul, in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis weapons manufacturing facilities near Mosul in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Stocks of French-manufactured Sorbitol, Latvian potassium nitrate and Lebanese sugar at an Isis weapons factory in Iraq Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A destroyed Isis weapons facility in Qaraqosh, Iraq, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research

The speedy conclusion to the operation means that Isis has now lost its last major position in the country. Many militants have fled to the desert town of al-Qaim and other positions along the border with Syria.

Isis is under pressure on both sides of the border and now clings on to a fraction of the territory that once formed part of its so-called caliphate across the two countries.

Isis’ control in Iraq effectively collapsed in July, when its de facto capital, the city of Mosul, was recaptured by coalition forces after a gruelling nine-month battle.

In Syria, US-backed Arab and Kurdish forces have retaken 90 per cent of Isis’ Syrian capital of Raqqa, and the Syrian government, backed by Russian air power and allied militias, is winning against the militants in the Deir Ezzor province.

As its once mighty caliphate crumbles, analysts expect Isis to morph into an insurgency group across both Syria and Iraq, and to step up terror attacks worldwide.