Syrian army and allied forces captured the strategic southern town close to the Jordanian border after weeks of fierce fighting.

Syrian army and allied forces captured the strategic southern town close to the Jordanian border after weeks of fierce fighting, a monitor said on Tuesday.

The opposition UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Syrian national military and allied military units "seized control of Sheikh Miskeen" overnight with the help of Russian and Syrian government air strikes.

The town, in Daraa province, lies on a vital crossroads between Damascus to the north and the government-controlled city of Sweida to the east.

It is 12 kilometers (seven miles) from the terrorists' stronghold of Nawa, another key target for the Syrian army.

A security source had told Agence France Presse the Sheikh Miskeen was a "launching pad" for terrorists' operations, and one of the opposition's "centers of gravity for the whole of Daraa province".

He said seizing control of the town would sever the terrorists' supply route to areas under opposition control around Damascus.

Last month, the Syrian troops captured the Brigade 82 base outside the town, and they have since been pushing to capture Sheikh Miskeen.

Most of Daraa province is controlled by terrorist groups, though the government holds parts of the provincial capital and a few villages in the northwest.

The General Command of the Army and Armed Forces said restoring security and stability to al-Sheikh Miskeen city is a springboard for further combat operations.

Establishing control over the city, located in the northern countryside of Daraa province, just dealt a major blow to the terrorist organizations and their supporters, the General Command added in a statement.

The operation was backed up by the Syrian and Russian air forces and included a series of successes in which the army assumed control of several sites, most importantly Brigade 82 Camp and al-Hash hill, in addition to destroying centers for the terrorist organizations, according to the statement.

The importance of this achievement, it said, comes from the strategic location of al-Sheikh Miskeen city as it links Daraa city and the northern, eastern and western countryside of Daraa, in addition to the fact that it overlooks a number of strategic points and hills.

Controlling al-Sheikh Miskeen helps cut off the terrorists’ supply lines on several directions and enhances the security of the area surrounding the international highway between Damascus and Daraa, the Army Command pointed out.

This new achievement, it said, adds to the continued victories achieved by the Armed Forces in the countryside of Hama, Aleppo and Lattakia.