Historic Artifacts Removed from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus

Historic sculptures and other artefacts have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.

The robbery was found on the start of the week, when employees allegedly found that a doorway had been forced from the interior.

The six missing statues were made of marble and originated to the ancient Roman times, one official informed the Associated Press.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to identify the "details surrounding the loss of a collection of items", and that actions had been taken to improve security and monitoring systems.

The head of national security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as stating that law enforcement were probing the incident, which he said had affected several "historical artifacts and valuable objects".

He added that guards at the facility and additional people were being questioned.

The National Museum, which was established in 1919, contains the primary archaeological collection in Syria.

It contains ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where proof of the earliest complete alphabet was discovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, one of the most important ancient sites of the historical period; and a third century Jewish temple that was built at an ancient location.

The institution was forced to close in the early 2010s, twelve months after the outbreak of the destructive conflict. Most of the artifacts was evacuated and stored at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.

It began limited operations in 2018 and completely reopened in early this year, one month after opposition groups overthrew the Assad regime.

Every one of the country's cultural landmarks were affected or significantly impacted during the conflict.

The militant faction blew up multiple temples and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were un-Islamic. Unesco censured the destruction as a atrocity.

Countless historical objects were also damaged or stolen from dig sites and museums.