Iraqi artifacts returned to embassy staff

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- More than 1,000 artifacts looted from Iraqi museums and archaeological sites were returned to the Iraqi Embassy in Washington, Iraqi officials said.

Iraqi Foreign Ministry officials said the pieces were delivered to embassy staff in Washington in a ceremony attended by U.S. customs officials. Embassy staff planned to ship the artifacts to the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad, Iraqi daily Azzaman reported.

Iraqi officials said it appeared most of the returned items had been looted in recent years, suggesting the security of Iraqi national artifacts was still an issue five years after the fall of Baghdad. Looters ransacked several heritage sites in Iraq following the U.S.-led invasion.

U.S. authorities did not indicate to embassy staff how the items came into their possession, the report said. Iraqi heritage officials estimate more than 15,000 items were stolen in the country since 2003, though roughly half have been returned.

U.S. officials in the past had blamed the backers of the insurgency for dealing in stolen artifacts to fund militant activity.

The latest return was the largest single recovery of Iraqi antiquities in at least two years.