Historic Sculptures Stolen from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Valuable statues and cultural objects have been removed from Syria's National Museum in the capital, officials say.
The burglary was discovered on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that an entrance had been forced from the interior.
The six missing statues were marble creations and traced back to the Roman period, a source stated to the news agency.
Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to establish the "details surrounding the loss of a collection of exhibits", and that actions had been implemented to enhance protection and observation methods.
The chief of domestic security in Damascus province, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that law enforcement were probing the incident, which he said had targeted several "archaeological statues and valuable objects".
He added that security personnel at the institution and additional people were being questioned.
The National Museum, which was established in 1919, contains the significant historical artifacts in the country.
It includes clay cuneiform tablets originating to the ancient era from an ancient city, where evidence of the earliest complete alphabet was discovered; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from Palmyra, one of the most important historical locations of the historical period; and a ancient synagogue that was established at an ancient location.
The facility was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, a year after the start of the destructive conflict. The majority of the artifacts was transferred and preserved at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.
It began limited operations in recent years and returned to normal in early this year, four weeks after insurgents overthrew Syria's former leader.
Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were damaged or partially destroyed during the civil war.
The IS organization demolished several ancient buildings and additional edifices at the archaeological site, stating that they were un-Islamic. The cultural organization censured the demolition as a war crime.
Countless historical objects were also lost or looted from archaeological sites and museums.
