Valuable Sculptures Taken from the National Museum in Damascus
Historic artifacts and other artefacts have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, officials say.
The burglary was found on the start of the week, when employees reportedly found that an entrance had been damaged from the interior.
The multiple stolen sculptures were crafted from marble and dated back to the Roman period, a source told the Associated Press.
Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to establish the "events surrounding the loss of a collection of exhibits", and that actions had been enacted to strengthen security and monitoring systems.
The chief of national security in the capital area, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as saying that law enforcement were examining the incident, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".
He continued that guards at the museum and additional people were being interrogated.
The National Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, houses the most important historical artifacts in Syria.
It includes clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the ancient era from Ugarit, where proof of the earliest writing system was found; early centuries CE Greco-Roman sculptures from the ancient city, among the foremost cultural centres of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD synagogue that was built at an ancient location.
The museum was forced to close in 2012, one year after the start of the internal strife. The majority of the collection was evacuated and stored at secure places to safeguard them.
It partially resumed in 2018 and returned to normal in early this year, four weeks after insurgents deposed Syria's former leader.
All six of nationally recognized sites were affected or significantly impacted during the civil war.
The IS organization blew up multiple religious structures and additional edifices at the ancient city, stating that they were against their beliefs. The cultural organization denounced the demolition as a atrocity.
Numerous artefacts were also damaged or taken from historical locations and collections.