Valuable Statues Removed from the National Museum in Damascus
Historic statues and additional items have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, authorities report.
The burglary was noticed on the start of the week, when staff allegedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the inside.
The multiple taken sculptures were made of marble and originated to the Roman period, an authority told the media outlet.
Cultural heritage officials said it had opened an investigation to identify the "events surrounding the loss of a number of exhibits", and that steps had been implemented to strengthen protection and monitoring systems.
The head of internal security in the capital area, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as declaring that authorities were investigating the incident, which he said had affected several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".
He added that museum protectors at the institution and other individuals were being interviewed.
The National Museum, which was founded in 1919, houses the primary archaeological collection in Syria.
It contains clay cuneiform tablets originating to the Bronze Age from historical site, where indications of the oldest known writing system was uncovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD classical statues from historical site, one of the most important historical locations of the ancient world; and a ancient religious building that was constructed at Dura Europos.
The museum was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, a year after the beginning of the devastating civil war. The majority of the holdings was removed and kept at secret locations to protect them.
It began limited operations in recent years and returned to normal in early this year, a month after opposition groups deposed the Assad regime.
Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were harmed or partly ruined during the conflict.
The IS organization blew up numerous ancient buildings and additional edifices at Palmyra, claiming that they were idolatrous. International authorities condemned the destruction as a war crime.
Numerous historical objects were also damaged or taken from dig sites and collections.