Ancient Sculptures Removed from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Valuable artifacts and other artefacts have been removed from Syria's National Museum in the capital, officials say.
The burglary was noticed on the start of the week, when staff allegedly found that an entrance had been forced from the interior.
The half-dozen missing statues were made of marble and originated to the Roman period, a source told the news agency.
Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to identify the "events surrounding the theft of a group of exhibits", and that actions had been enacted to improve security and observation methods.
The head of national security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as saying that security forces were investigating the theft, which he said had targeted several "archaeological statues and unique items".
He continued that guards at the institution and other individuals were being interrogated.
The cultural institution, which was created in the early twentieth century, houses the significant historical artifacts in Syria.
It features clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where evidence of the most ancient writing system was discovered; early centuries CE ancient art from Palmyra, one of the most important ancient sites of the ancient world; and a third century Jewish temple that was built at Dura Europos.
The facility was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, twelve months after the beginning of the destructive conflict. Most of the holdings was transferred and preserved at secure places to safeguard them.
It reopened partially in 2018 and returned to normal in the beginning of the year, a month after opposition groups removed President Bashar al-Assad.
Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.
The Islamic State group destroyed several temples and additional edifices at the ancient city, asserting that they were against their beliefs. Unesco denounced the demolition as a atrocity.
Countless historical objects were also destroyed or taken from archaeological sites and collections.