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Ancient sculptures and other artefacts have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, officials say.

The burglary was noticed on the start of the week, when employees reportedly found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the interior.

The six taken sculptures were made of marble and dated back to the Roman era, one official informed the media outlet.

Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to determine the "events surrounding the disappearance of a collection of artifacts", and that measures had been taken to enhance security and surveillance.

The head of internal security in Damascus province, General Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as stating that security forces were investigating the theft, which he said had affected several "archaeological statues and valuable objects".

He continued that museum protectors at the museum and additional people were being interrogated.

The cultural institution, which was established in the early twentieth century, houses the primary historical artifacts in Syria.

It features clay cuneiform tablets originating to the Bronze Age from Ugarit, where proof of the most ancient writing system was discovered; Greco-Roman period classical statues from Palmyra, a significant historical locations of the historical period; and a third century religious building that was built at an ancient location.

The institution was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, one year after the start of the destructive conflict. The majority of the holdings was evacuated and stored at secret locations to ensure their safety.

It partially resumed in 2018 and returned to normal in early this year, one month after insurgents overthrew President Bashar al-Assad.

Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were harmed or partly ruined during the conflict.

The militant faction destroyed several temples and additional edifices at the archaeological site, asserting that they were against their beliefs. Unesco condemned the destruction as a war crime.

Numerous artefacts were also destroyed or looted from historical locations and cultural institutions.