KUALA LUMPUR – Iraq yesterday unveiled several ancient artefacts returned by the United States, which took them out of the country after its 2003 invasion.
The artefacts were returned by the US after a visit by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani to Washington in April, Reuters reports, quoting Iraq’s Culture, Tourism and Antiquities Minister Ahmed al-Badrani at a ceremony in Baghdad yesterday.
Al-Badrani said other states had also returned relics smuggled out from Iraq.
More of such “rare archeological collections” will be returned by Switzerland and Japan later this month, he added.
Iraqi authorities have been trying to retrieve thousands of archaeological relics missing since the invasion, which was followed by widespread looting in the country that some historians regard as the cradle of civilization. – July 9, 2024