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Ancient statues and additional items have been removed from Syria's National Museum in the capital, sources confirm.

The theft was noticed on the start of the week, when employees reportedly found that an entrance had been broken from the inside.

The half-dozen missing statues were marble creations and traced back to the Roman period, one official informed the media outlet.

Cultural heritage officials said it had opened an investigation to identify the "events surrounding the theft of a number of artifacts", and that measures had been taken to improve security and monitoring systems.

The head of domestic security in Damascus province, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as stating that security forces were probing the incident, which he said had affected several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".

He added that guards at the facility and other persons were being interviewed.

The Damascus Museum, which was created in the early twentieth century, contains the significant historical artifacts in Syria.

It features clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where indications of the oldest known complete alphabet was found; Greco-Roman period classical statues from the ancient city, one of the most important historical locations of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was constructed at another archaeological site.

The institution was forced to close in 2012, twelve months after the beginning of the devastating civil war. Most of the artifacts was removed and stored at secure places to protect them.

It began limited operations in 2018 and completely reopened in January 2025, four weeks after rebel forces removed the Assad regime.

All six of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partly ruined during the conflict.

The IS organization destroyed several temples and historical sites at the archaeological site, claiming that they were idolatrous. International authorities condemned the damage as a violation.

Numerous artefacts were also destroyed or looted from archaeological sites and museums.