Syria secures 300,000 artefacts

Syrian authorities have secured 300,000 artefacts from archaeological sites across the country, the country's antiquities chief said.

Maamoun Abdulkarim, head of the antiquities and museums department in Damascus, said the secured artefacts include 400 statues from the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria, Xinhua news agency repoted on Sunday.

He said 95 percent of the artefacts of Palmyra were secured.

Palmyra, Syria's millennia-old oasis city, was stormed by the IS in May. Since then, several ancient temples and tombs have been destroyed.

Reports said the secured artefacts have been relocated to safe areas inside the capital Damascus.