Iraq says US returning 17,000 looted ancient treasures

Iraqi culture and foreign ministries say Baghdad reached an agreement with US authorities to recover artefacts and other items seized after the 2003 invasion.

The United States has begun returning more than 17,000 ancient artefacts looted and smuggled out of Iraq following its invasion in 2003, according to Iraqi officials. The Iraqi culture and foreign ministries said US authorities had reached an agreement with the government in Baghdad to return treasures seized from dealers and museums in the US, including a 3,500-year-old clay tablet bearing part of the Epic of Gilgamesh. “The US government seized some of the artefacts and sent them to the [Iraqi] embassy. The Gilgamesh tablet, the important one, will be returned to Iraq in the next month after legal procedures are finalised,” Minister of Culture Hassan Nadhim told Reuters news agency on Tuesday.