Historic Sculptures Stolen from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Ancient statues and other artefacts have been stolen from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, authorities report.
The theft was discovered on the start of the week, when museum workers allegedly found that one of the museum's doors had been broken from the inside.
The half-dozen stolen sculptures were marble creations and dated back to the Roman era, an authority stated to the news agency.
Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to determine the "details surrounding the loss of a number of exhibits", and that steps had been taken to improve safeguarding and observation methods.
The chief of national security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as stating that authorities were examining the incident, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".
He noted that security personnel at the museum and additional people were being interviewed.
The Damascus Museum, which was created in 1919, houses the primary archaeological collection in Syria.
It includes clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the 14th Century BC from historical site, where evidence of the earliest linguistic system was discovered; Greco-Roman period classical statues from the ancient city, among the foremost historical locations of the ancient world; and a third century religious building that was built at an ancient location.
The institution was forced to close in the early 2010s, one year after the outbreak of the internal strife. A large portion of the collection was evacuated and stored at secret locations to safeguard them.
It began limited operations in recent years and returned to normal in early this year, a month after opposition groups overthrew Syria's former leader.
Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were affected or partly ruined during the civil war.
The Islamic State group destroyed several temples and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were against their beliefs. Unesco condemned the destruction as a atrocity.
Countless artefacts were also lost or taken from dig sites and cultural institutions.
