DAMASCUS, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army on Monday captured the Tal al-Harrah, highest and most strategic hill in the northwestern countryside of Daraa Province in southern Syria, state news agency SANA reported.

The Syrian forces have controlled the town of al-Harrah and its namesake hill in the northwestern countryside of Daraa, SANA said.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor group also reported the significant progress by the Syrian army in Daraa.

Reports said the army entered the town through reconciliation with rebels, which is considered a significant advance because of the strategic importance of the town and its hill.

The reconciliation deals require the rebels to hand over their weapons, and allow the entry of the Syrian army into the town and the departure of rebels who refuse to surrender toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

Tal al-Harrah lies 16 km from the southern province of Quneitra, 55 km from the capital city of Daraa and 50 km from the countryside of the capital Damascus.

Ahead of the rebels' capture of the strategic area in 2014, it was home to one of the largest armored brigade in the army in southern Syria.

The control of the hill enables the Syrian army to expose rebel-held areas in the countryside of Quneitra, and secure the recently-recaptured areas in the countryside of Daraa and in the western countryside of Damascus.

The progress of the Syrian army through reconciliations and military operations will help the Syrian forces besiege the area controlled by the Islamic State (IS) militant group near the border with the Israel-occupied Golan Heights.

The army has captured more than 86 percent of Daraa Province, according to the pro-rebel Observatory.

As the birthplace of the Syrian war that erupted in 2011, Daraa is both symbolically and militarily significant for the Syrian army because the rebels have been using the Jordanian border to bring in arms and fighters throughout the Syrian war.