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

The robbery was discovered on the start of the week, when museum workers allegedly found that one of the museum's doors had been damaged from the interior.

The half-dozen stolen statues were crafted from marble and traced back to the Roman era, an authority informed the Associated Press.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had opened an investigation to identify the "details surrounding the disappearance of a collection of artifacts", and that actions had been taken to strengthen safeguarding and observation methods.

The director of domestic security in the Damascus region, Security Chief Atkeh, was cited by the state-run Sana news agency as declaring that security forces were probing the theft, which he said had targeted several "archaeological statues and valuable objects".

He noted that guards at the institution and additional people were being interrogated.

The Damascus Museum, which was established in the early twentieth century, houses the significant historical artifacts in the country.

It includes clay cuneiform tablets dating back to the ancient era from an ancient city, where proof of the earliest complete alphabet was uncovered; early centuries CE ancient art from historical site, among the foremost cultural centres of the classical era; and a 3rd Century AD Jewish temple that was established at Dura Europos.

The facility was had to cease operations in 2012, one year after the beginning of the devastating civil war. The majority of the artifacts was transferred and preserved at secret locations to ensure their safety.

It partially resumed in recent years and resumed full operations in early this year, four weeks after insurgents removed the Assad regime.

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

The Islamic State group blew up several ancient buildings and additional edifices at Palmyra, claiming that they were un-Islamic. Unesco condemned the damage as a violation.

Numerous artefacts were also lost or looted from archaeological sites and cultural institutions.