Valuable Statues Stolen from Syria's National Museum in Damascus

Ancient artifacts and additional items have been removed from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, officials say.

The burglary was discovered on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the interior.

The half-dozen stolen statues were crafted from marble and traced back to the Roman era, a source told the news agency.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "details surrounding the loss of a number of artifacts", and that actions had been taken to improve security and monitoring systems.

The head of domestic security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was cited by the government press as saying that security forces were investigating the theft, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and valuable objects".

He continued that security personnel at the facility and other persons were being interviewed.

The Damascus Museum, which was established in 1919, contains the significant archaeological collection in Syria.

It features ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where proof of the oldest known complete alphabet was found; early centuries CE classical statues from historical site, among the foremost ancient sites of the historical period; and a ancient religious building that was established at an ancient location.

The institution was had to cease operations in 2012, one year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. Most of the collection was removed and preserved at undisclosed sites to ensure their safety.

It reopened partially in recent years and returned to normal in early this year, four weeks after opposition groups removed the Assad regime.

Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were affected or partially destroyed during the conflict.

The Islamic State group demolished several ancient buildings and historical sites at the archaeological site, stating that they were un-Islamic. The cultural organization denounced the demolition as a war crime.

Many artefacts were also damaged or taken from archaeological sites and collections.