Historic Sculptures Stolen from the National Museum in Damascus

Ancient statues and other artefacts have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, authorities report.

The burglary was noticed on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that a doorway had been forced from the interior.

The six stolen pieces were made of marble and traced back to the Roman period, an authority informed the media outlet.

Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to identify the "details surrounding the theft of a collection of exhibits", and that measures had been implemented to improve safeguarding and monitoring systems.

The chief of domestic security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as stating that security forces were investigating the theft, which he said had targeted several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".

He added that guards at the museum and additional people were being interrogated.

The Damascus Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, holds the primary archaeological collection in Syria.

It includes ancient inscribed tablets dating back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where indications of the earliest linguistic system was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD ancient art from the ancient city, a significant cultural centres of the classical era; and a third century religious building that was established at Dura Europos.

The facility was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, a year after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. Most of the holdings was evacuated and preserved at undisclosed sites to ensure their safety.

It reopened partially in recent years and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, one month after opposition groups removed President Bashar al-Assad.

Every one of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partly ruined during the civil war.

The militant faction destroyed several religious structures and historical sites at Palmyra, claiming that they were un-Islamic. Unesco condemned the demolition as a atrocity.

Many cultural items were also damaged or looted from historical locations and collections.