Thursday, 24th April 2008 (618 views)

Gold antiquities including coins and jewellery that were looted in the aftermath of the US-led invasion of Iraq have been returned to the country after being seized by customs officials in neighbouring Syria, according to reports.

News service Agence France-Presse (AFP) said that around 700 pieces were returned in all, with Syrian culture minister Riad Naassan-Agha handing over the items to Iraqi tourism and archaeology minister Mohammed Abbas al-Oraibi at a ceremony in Damascus.

According to AFP, around 32,000 antiquities were looted from Iraq amidst the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003. Some 12,000 archaeological sites were affected, while 15,000 objects disappeared when the Baghdad National Museum was ransacked.

The agency adds that to date, around 4,000 of the missing treasures have been recovered.

At the time of the looting, then US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld famously responded that "stuff happens", adding "freedom's untidy".

According to AFP, Iraq is widely considered one of the cradles of civilisation, with evidence of settlements dating back to 3000 BC.

 

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