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Historic sculptures and cultural objects have been taken from the National Museum of Syria in Damascus, officials say.

The robbery was found on the start of the week, when staff apparently found that one of the museum's doors had been forced from the inside.

The six stolen statues were marble creations and traced back to the ancient Roman times, a source stated to the Associated Press.

The nation's antiquities authority said it had opened an investigation to establish the "details surrounding the theft of a number of items", and that steps had been implemented to enhance protection and monitoring systems.

The director of internal security in the capital area, Security Chief Atkeh, was quoted by the official media as stating that law enforcement were probing the robbery, which he said had targeted several "historical artifacts and unique items".

He noted that security personnel at the facility and additional people were being interrogated.

The cultural institution, which was established in the early twentieth century, holds the significant archaeological collection in Syria.

It includes clay cuneiform tablets originating to the ancient era from Ugarit, where indications of the oldest known linguistic system was found; early centuries CE Greco-Roman sculptures from historical site, among the foremost historical locations of the ancient world; and a ancient Jewish temple that was established at Dura Europos.

The facility was forced to close in the early 2010s, one year after the beginning of the destructive conflict. Most of the artifacts was transferred and kept at undisclosed sites to protect them.

It partially resumed in recent years and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, four weeks after rebel forces overthrew President Bashar al-Assad.

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

The militant faction destroyed several ancient buildings and historical sites at the archaeological site, asserting that they were against their beliefs. Unesco censured the destruction as a war crime.

Numerous historical objects were also destroyed or looted from dig sites and museums.