It is arguably one of the most coveted prizes in Syria's civil war, and after eight years of fighting, Syrian President Bashar Assad has got it back.
The Damascus-Aleppo highway, or the M5, is known to Syrians simply as the "International Road." Cutting through all of Syria's major cities, the motorway is key to who controls the country.
Assad gradually lost control over the motorway from 2012, when various rebel groups fighting to topple him began seizing parts of the country.
