Over 17,000 looted ancient artifacts recovered from the United States and other countries were handed over to Iraq's Culture Ministry on Tuesday, a restitution described by the government as the largest in the country's history.
The majority of the artifacts date back 4,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia and were recovered from the U.S. in a recent trip by Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Other pieces were also returned from Japan, Netherlands and Italy, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said in a joint press conference with Culture Minister Hasan Nadhim.
"There's still a lot of work ahead in this matter. There are still thousands of Iraqi artifacts smuggled outside the country," he said. "The United Nations resolutions are supporting us in the international community and the laws of other countries in which these artifacts are smuggled to are on our side."
The artifacts were handed over to the Culture Ministry in large wooden crates. A few were displayed but the ministry said the most significant pieces will be examined and later displayed to the public in Iraq's National Museum.
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