Valuable Artifacts Taken from the National Museum Located in Damascus

Valuable sculptures and additional items have been removed from Syria's National Museum in Damascus, sources confirm.

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

The multiple missing pieces were made of marble and originated to the Roman era, an authority stated to the Associated Press.

Cultural heritage officials said it had opened an investigation to identify the "details surrounding the theft of a collection of items", and that steps had been enacted to strengthen security and observation methods.

The head of internal security in the capital area, General Osama Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as declaring that law enforcement were examining the theft, which he said had targeted several "ancient sculptures and valuable objects".

He added that security personnel at the museum and other individuals were being interviewed.

The cultural institution, which was established in 1919, holds the most important archaeological collection in the country.

It features ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the Bronze Age from historical site, where indications of the most ancient writing system was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD classical statues from Palmyra, a significant cultural centres of the historical period; and a third century synagogue that was constructed at Dura Europos.

The facility was had to cease operations in the early 2010s, twelve months after the beginning of the devastating civil war. The majority of the collection was transferred and preserved at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.

It partially resumed in recent years and resumed full operations in early this year, four weeks after rebel forces deposed President Bashar al-Assad.

Each of the six of nationally recognized sites were affected or partly ruined during the civil war.

The militant faction blew up several religious structures and additional edifices at Palmyra, stating that they were un-Islamic. Unesco censured the destruction as a violation.

Numerous cultural items were also destroyed or looted from historical locations and museums.