Delaware Officials Return Stolen Artifacts to Iraq
February 21, 2011
During the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq looting of the Iraqi National Museum received significant media coverage. Last summer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware recovered 25 Iraqi artifacts from a California antiquities dealer. On Friday, the items were formally repatriated. In a brief ceremony, U.S. Attorney for Delaware Charles M. Oberly III presented them to Iraqi Ambassador to the United States Samir Sumaida’ie. Over 150,000 items were looted from the Iraqi National Museum in 2003. Sumaida’ie said this was one step in the long process of reassembling Iraq’s cultural heritage.
