DAMASCUS, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian government forces succeeded on Thursday to retake the city of Soran, one of the largest cities in Hama province in central Syria, just weeks after the rebels had captured it, a monitor group reported.

With reinforcements received over the past few weeks, the government forces completely regained control over Soran, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The London-based watchdog said the city was retaken by government forces Thursday after "intense shelling."

Recapturing Soran enables the Syrian army's artillery to target rebel-held areas all the way to the southern countryside of the northwestern province of Idlib, one of the most important rebel strongholds in northern Syria.

Syrian forces could also use Soran as leverage over the rebels in northern Hama countryside.

The rebels captured Soran on Aug. 29 as part of a wide-scale offensive they unleashed in northern Hama to divert the attention of the Syrian forces from battles in the northern province of Aleppo, where the Syrian army were also making notable gains.