Ancient Sculptures Stolen from the National Museum in Damascus
Valuable artifacts and other artefacts have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, officials say.
The robbery was noticed on Monday, when museum workers apparently found that a doorway had been broken from the interior.
The six missing sculptures were made of marble and traced back to the Roman period, a source stated to the news agency.
Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to determine the "details surrounding the theft of a collection of items", and that steps had been enacted to strengthen security and surveillance.
The head of internal security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the state-run Sana news agency as stating that law enforcement were examining the robbery, which he said had affected several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".
He noted that museum protectors at the institution and additional people were being questioned.
The National Museum, which was founded in the early twentieth century, houses the most important cultural treasures in Syria.
It contains ancient inscribed tablets originating to the ancient era from historical site, where indications of the oldest known complete alphabet was found; early centuries CE ancient art from historical site, among the foremost ancient sites of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD Jewish temple that was constructed at another archaeological site.
The museum was forced to close in 2012, a year after the beginning of the internal strife. Most of the artifacts was evacuated and kept at secure places to ensure their safety.
It partially resumed in 2018 and completely reopened in the beginning of the year, one month after insurgents deposed the Assad regime.
Every one of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or partly ruined during the conflict.
The Islamic State group demolished multiple ancient buildings and additional edifices at Palmyra, claiming that they were un-Islamic. The cultural organization denounced the demolition as a war crime.
Many cultural items were also lost or looted from archaeological sites and collections.