Justice Ministry recovers 80 smuggled antiquities and artworks

BAGHDAD — The Justice Ministry has recovered 80 antiquities and artworks smuggled out of Iraq, working with the Foreign Ministry, the Iraqi Embassy in Washington and other authorities.

The objects had left the country through illegal excavation, theft, smuggling and resale abroad, the ministry’s Foreign Claims Directorate said. It did not describe them, say where they were held or when they will arrive.

The State Board of Antiquities and Heritage said in January that Iraq had recovered nearly 11,000 antiquities in two years, from Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Britain, Lebanon and Jordan, with cooperation from the United States particularly active. The largest single return came from the United States in 2021, about 17,000 pieces including thousands of cuneiform tablets. More than 15,000 objects were looted from the Iraq Museum after the 2003 invasion. Security forces seized 255 artefacts near the Basra-Dhi Qar highway in May.