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Valuable sculptures and cultural objects have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, authorities report.

The theft was discovered on the start of the week, when employees allegedly found that a doorway had been broken from the interior.

The half-dozen missing sculptures were crafted from marble and dated back to the ancient Roman times, one official told the news agency.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had launched a probe to identify the "events surrounding the loss of a group of items", and that measures had been taken to strengthen security and observation methods.

The director of internal security in Damascus province, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was cited by the official media as declaring that security forces were probing the incident, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and rare collectibles".

He noted that security personnel at the museum and other persons were being interrogated.

The cultural institution, which was founded in the early twentieth century, houses the most important archaeological collection in the country.

It includes ancient inscribed tablets dating back to the ancient era from Ugarit, where evidence of the earliest linguistic system was found; Greco-Roman period Greco-Roman sculptures from the ancient city, among the foremost cultural centres of the ancient world; and a 3rd Century AD synagogue that was established at another archaeological site.

The facility was forced to close in the early 2010s, one year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the collection was removed and kept at undisclosed sites to ensure their safety.

It partially resumed in recent years and resumed full operations in January 2025, four weeks after opposition groups removed the Assad regime.

All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or partially destroyed during the conflict.

The IS organization destroyed numerous religious structures and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. International authorities denounced the destruction as a war crime.

Countless cultural items were also lost or taken from historical locations and museums.