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Valuable artifacts and other artefacts have been taken from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, sources confirm.

The theft was discovered on the start of the week, when employees apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the inside.

The half-dozen missing statues were made of marble and dated back to the Roman era, one official told the Associated Press.

Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to establish the "events surrounding the theft of a number of artifacts", and that steps had been taken to improve protection and monitoring systems.

The head of internal security in Damascus province, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the official media as stating that law enforcement were examining the robbery, which he said had focused on several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".

He continued that guards at the institution and other persons were being interrogated.

The Damascus Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, holds the primary archaeological collection in Syria.

It contains clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the 14th Century BC from Ugarit, where evidence of the most ancient writing system was uncovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from the ancient city, a significant ancient sites of the ancient world; and a ancient Jewish temple that was constructed at Dura Europos.

The facility was compelled to shut in 2012, one year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the collection was removed and kept at secret locations to protect them.

It began limited operations in 2018 and returned to normal in January 2025, a month after opposition groups overthrew Syria's former leader.

Every one of the country's cultural landmarks were affected or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.

The Islamic State group demolished numerous temples and historical sites at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. International authorities censured the damage as a violation.

Many historical objects were also damaged or taken from dig sites and museums.