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

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

The half-dozen stolen pieces were crafted from marble and traced back to the Roman period, an authority told the news agency.

Cultural heritage officials said it had launched a probe to identify the "events surrounding the theft of a number of items", and that steps had been implemented to strengthen protection and monitoring systems.

The director of domestic security in Damascus province, Security Chief Atkeh, was quoted by the government press as stating that authorities were examining the incident, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and rare collectibles".

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

The cultural institution, which was created in the early twentieth century, contains the most important archaeological collection in Syria.

It features ancient inscribed tablets tracing back to the Bronze Age from an ancient city, where proof of the oldest known linguistic system was found; 1st and 2nd Century AD ancient art from the ancient city, one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world; and a ancient synagogue that was built at Dura Europos.

The facility was forced to close in 2012, one year after the outbreak of the devastating civil war. A large portion of the collection was transferred and stored at undisclosed sites to ensure their safety.

It reopened partially in recent years and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, one month after opposition groups removed Syria's former leader.

Each of the six of Syria's Unesco World Heritage sites were affected or partially destroyed during the conflict.

The IS organization blew up several temples and other structures at Palmyra, stating that they were idolatrous. Unesco condemned the demolition as a atrocity.

Many artefacts were also destroyed or looted from archaeological sites and collections.