Historic Statues Taken from the National Museum Located in Damascus
Ancient artifacts and additional items have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.
The burglary was noticed on the start of the week, when staff reportedly found that an entrance had been broken from the interior.
The half-dozen missing pieces were made of marble and traced back to the Roman period, a source stated to the news agency.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had opened an investigation to identify the "details surrounding the theft of a number of items", and that measures had been taken to improve protection and monitoring systems.
The head of domestic security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as saying that authorities were examining the robbery, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".
He continued that security personnel at the institution and additional people were being questioned.
The National Museum, which was created in 1919, houses the most important cultural treasures in the country.
It contains clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the Bronze Age from Ugarit, where indications of the earliest complete alphabet was uncovered; early centuries CE classical statues from Palmyra, one of the most important ancient sites of the ancient world; and a ancient Jewish temple that was built at Dura Europos.
The institution was forced to close in 2012, a year after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. A large portion of the holdings was evacuated and kept at secret locations to safeguard them.
It reopened partially in recent years and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, one month after opposition groups deposed the Assad regime.
Every one of the country's cultural landmarks were affected or partially destroyed during the internal struggle.
The Islamic State group demolished several temples and additional edifices at the ancient city, asserting that they were against their beliefs. International authorities censured the damage as a atrocity.
Countless artefacts were also damaged or looted from historical locations and museums.
