Valuable Statues Taken from Syria's National Museum Located in Damascus
Ancient sculptures and additional items have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, sources confirm.
The burglary was noticed on Monday, when employees apparently found that a doorway had been broken from the interior.
The six taken statues were crafted from marble and traced back to the Roman era, one official 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 measures had been enacted to enhance protection and surveillance.
The director of internal security in the capital area, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the government press as saying that law enforcement were examining the theft, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and valuable objects".
He added that guards at the institution and other persons were being questioned.
The National Museum, which was founded in 1919, contains the primary cultural treasures in Syria.
It includes historical records originating to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where indications of the oldest known linguistic system was uncovered; early centuries CE Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, among the foremost historical locations of the historical period; and a ancient religious building that was established at an ancient location.
The facility was had to cease operations in 2012, twelve months after the outbreak of the internal strife. Most of the holdings was evacuated and stored at secret locations to ensure their safety.
It partially resumed in recent years and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, a month after opposition groups deposed Syria's former leader.
All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or partly ruined during the civil war.
The IS organization destroyed multiple ancient buildings and historical sites at Palmyra, asserting that they were un-Islamic. Unesco censured the destruction as a war crime.
Numerous artefacts were also lost or looted from archaeological sites and museums.
