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Historic statues and cultural objects have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, officials say.

The burglary was discovered on Monday, when employees reportedly found that a doorway had been forced from the interior.

The half-dozen taken statues were made of marble and dated back to the ancient Roman times, an authority stated to the news agency.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had launched a probe to establish the "circumstances surrounding the theft of a collection of artifacts", and that measures had been implemented to enhance protection and observation methods.

The head of domestic security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the official media as declaring that law enforcement were investigating the robbery, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".

He noted that security personnel at the institution and other individuals were being interviewed.

The cultural institution, which was created in 1919, holds the most important cultural treasures in Syria.

It features ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the ancient era from Ugarit, where evidence of the earliest linguistic system was uncovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD classical statues from historical site, a significant historical locations of the ancient world; and a third century religious building that was constructed at an ancient location.

The museum was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, twelve months after the outbreak of the destructive conflict. A large portion of the collection was removed and preserved at secure places to safeguard them.

It began limited operations in recent years and completely reopened in January 2025, a month after opposition groups deposed the Assad regime.

All six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or significantly impacted during the civil war.

The IS organization demolished numerous religious structures and other structures at Palmyra, stating that they were against their beliefs. Unesco censured the damage as a violation.

Numerous cultural items were also damaged or looted from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.