Hundreds of looted artifacts returned to Iraq

[September 07, 2010]  BAGHDAD (AP) -- Hundreds of Iraqi artifacts looted from museums and archaeological sites across the country have been returned to Iraq.

More than 500 pieces were on display at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tuesday, including a 4,400-year-old statue of a Sumerian king discovered in the 1920s at the ancient city of Ur, in southern Iraq.

The headless statue was stolen from the Iraqi National Museum during the looting and chaos that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

The display is part of Iraqi efforts to repatriate its looted cultural heritage.

Among the youngest pieces of Iraq's past returned was a chrome-plated AK-47 with a pearl hand grip bearing Saddam Hussein's image. It was taken to the U.S. by an American soldier as a war trophy.

[Associated Press]

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