Footage filmed recently showed displaced families returning to their homes in the Syrian city of Palmyra, two years after the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) gained control of the city from the self-proclaimed Islamic State, Al-Masdar News reports.

Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, fell to IS in 2015. The Syrian government captured the city from IS in 2016 and then once again in 2017.

Since then, authorities have carried out reconstruction efforts, aimed at providing basic services to the returning locals, including electricity, water resources, and facilities that were destroyed by IS.

Head of the Palmyra City Council Hani Da’as thanked Homs Governor for offering public services “to secure a good life for the locals who are coming back to the city.”

One of the residents said he was “very happy” to return to Palmyra after being away for “five years.”