Historic Statues Removed from the National Museum in Damascus
Ancient artifacts and other artefacts have been taken from Syria's National Museum in the capital, authorities report.
The robbery was noticed on Monday, when employees apparently found that an entrance had been broken from the inside.
The multiple taken pieces were crafted from marble and traced back to the Roman era, one official informed the news agency.
The nation's antiquities authority said it had opened an investigation to establish the "circumstances surrounding the loss of a group of artifacts", and that actions had been enacted to strengthen security and observation methods.
The chief of national security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as declaring that law enforcement were investigating the robbery, which he said had focused on several "archaeological statues and valuable objects".
He added that museum protectors at the museum and additional people were being interrogated.
The cultural institution, which was created in the early twentieth century, holds the primary archaeological collection in Syria.
It includes historical records dating back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where indications of the earliest complete alphabet was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD ancient art from the ancient city, one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD religious building that was built at another archaeological site.
The museum was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, a year after the beginning of the devastating civil war. Most of the collection was transferred and stored at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.
It began limited operations in recent years and completely reopened in the beginning of the year, a month after rebel forces removed Syria's former leader.
All six of nationally recognized sites were damaged or partially destroyed during the civil war.
The IS organization destroyed numerous temples and additional edifices at the ancient city, asserting that they were idolatrous. Unesco condemned the demolition as a atrocity.
Many artefacts were also damaged or taken from historical locations and collections.