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Historic statues and additional items have been removed from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, sources confirm.

The robbery was noticed on the start of the week, when employees apparently found that a doorway had been forced from the interior.

The six missing statues were made of marble and originated to the ancient Roman times, an authority informed the news agency.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had initiated an inquiry to establish the "circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a collection of artifacts", and that actions had been enacted to enhance security and monitoring systems.

The head of domestic security in the capital area, Security Chief Atkeh, was referenced by the state-run Sana news agency as declaring that security forces were investigating the theft, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".

He added that museum protectors at the museum and additional people were being interviewed.

The cultural institution, which was created in 1919, holds the primary archaeological collection in the country.

It includes clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the 14th Century BC from an ancient city, where proof of the most ancient writing system was discovered; 1st and 2nd Century AD Greco-Roman sculptures from the ancient city, a significant historical locations of the ancient world; and a third century synagogue that was constructed at an ancient location.

The museum was compelled to shut in the early 2010s, twelve months after the outbreak of the internal strife. A large portion of the artifacts was removed and kept at undisclosed sites to safeguard them.

It reopened partially in recent years and returned to normal in early this year, four weeks after insurgents overthrew President Bashar al-Assad.

Each of the six of the country's cultural landmarks were harmed or significantly impacted during the conflict.

The Islamic State group destroyed multiple religious structures and historical sites at the archaeological site, asserting that they were against their beliefs. International authorities denounced the destruction as a war crime.

Countless historical objects were also lost or taken from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.