Iraq says more than 5,000 antiquities smuggled abroad since 2003

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq's Deputy Minister of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, Qasim al-Sudani, said more than 5,000 artifact pieces bearing museum registration numbers have been smuggled out of the country since 2003 through various methods. The ministry tracks the items at auctions, covert sales and international venues, he said. Al-Sudani told reporters that thousands of pieces have been recovered through cooperation with the Foreign Ministry, the Interior Ministry, INTERPOL, intelligence agencies and Iraqi embassies abroad. He described the tracking of artifacts taken through random, unlicensed excavations as difficult, adding that trafficking networks are monitored by national security and intelligence units in coordination with the Department of Antiquities. The antiquities file is part of Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaydi's government program, according to al-Sudani. He said the ministry would publicly announce each stage of the process as recovered pieces are returned.