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Valuable sculptures and other artefacts have been stolen from Syria's National Museum in the capital, sources confirm.

The theft was noticed on Monday, when employees apparently found that an entrance had been damaged from the inside.

The six taken statues were marble creations and originated to the Roman period, a source informed the Associated Press.

Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums said it had launched a probe to identify the "events surrounding the theft of a group of artifacts", and that measures had been taken to improve safeguarding and observation methods.

The head of internal security in the Damascus region, Brig-Gen Osama Atkeh, was quoted by the state-run Sana news agency as saying that security forces were probing the theft, which he said had affected several "ancient sculptures and valuable objects".

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

The cultural institution, which was created in the early twentieth century, houses the significant archaeological collection in the country.

It includes clay cuneiform tablets tracing back to the ancient era from Ugarit, where evidence of the earliest linguistic system was found; early centuries CE ancient art from Palmyra, one of the most important ancient sites of the historical period; and a third century Jewish temple that was built at Dura Europos.

The institution was compelled to shut in 2012, one year after the outbreak of the internal strife. The majority of the collection was evacuated and kept at secret locations to protect them.

It reopened partially in recent years and resumed full operations in the beginning of the year, a month after opposition groups removed President Bashar al-Assad.

All six of nationally recognized sites were affected or partly ruined during the internal struggle.

The militant faction demolished several temples and other structures at the archaeological site, asserting that they were idolatrous. Unesco censured the destruction as a violation.

Countless artefacts were also damaged or stolen from dig sites and cultural institutions.