“A joint security force in Babil province was able to arrest two people who attempted to smuggle 80 artifacts of different sizes and shapes…” state media said, citing an interior ministry statement.
Security forces set “a tight ambush,” the statement continued, “on the international highway in the province’s south.”
The unspecified antiquities were seized “to determine their authenticity and history,” the statement added, and the suspects are being investigated.
Iraq’s cultural artifacts have faced persistent looting and vandalism since the US invasion in 2003, a situation exacerbated by increased theft through waves of destabilization, culminating in the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) in 2014.
In recent years, Iraq has made significant efforts to recover and repatriate these lost antiquities.
Iraq in March 2022 re-inaugurated its national museum after years of conflict, showcasing Iraqi artifacts recovered from various countries, including the United States, Netherlands, Japan, Italy, and Lebanon.
In May 2022, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid arranged the return of over 6,000 Iraqi artifacts, which were taken by Britain centuries ago, during his visit to London to attend the coronation of King Charles III.
Later that month, the Iraqi foreign ministry announced that Baghdad had repatriated over 34,000 artifacts since 2019 from various countries around the world.
