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Valuable artifacts and cultural objects have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in the capital, sources confirm.

The robbery was found on Monday, when employees allegedly found that a doorway had been forced from the inside.

The six stolen pieces were crafted from marble and traced back to the Roman period, an authority informed the Associated Press.

Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to determine the "events surrounding the loss of a group of items", and that actions had been implemented to enhance safeguarding and surveillance.

The head of internal security in the Damascus region, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that security forces were investigating the incident, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and rare collectibles".

He continued that museum protectors at the institution and other persons were being interrogated.

The Damascus Museum, which was created in 1919, contains the most important historical artifacts in Syria.

It features clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the ancient era from Ugarit, where evidence of the most ancient complete alphabet was found; early centuries CE Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, among the foremost cultural centres of the historical period; and a ancient synagogue that was constructed at Dura Europos.

The museum was had to cease operations in 2012, twelve months after the start of the internal strife. A large portion of the artifacts was transferred and kept at secret locations to protect them.

It partially resumed in 2018 and returned to normal in January 2025, one month after opposition groups removed the Assad regime.

Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were damaged or significantly impacted during the internal struggle.

The Islamic State group destroyed multiple ancient buildings and other structures at Palmyra, stating that they were un-Islamic. International authorities denounced the damage as a violation.

Numerous cultural items were also lost or taken from dig sites and cultural institutions.