RABAT, August 7. /TASS/. Thousands of artifacts have been smuggled out of Iraq since the spring of 2003, when the international coalition invaded the country under the pretext of discovering weapons of mass destruction, said deputy culture, tourism and antiquities minister Qasem al-Sudani.

"Iraq has been subjected to looting in various ways since the coalition’s invasion with more than 5,000 items with registration numbers from Iraqi museums illegally smuggled out of the country since spring 2003," al-Sudani said.

He noted that the agency is monitoring the appearance of Iraqi artifacts "at state and private auctions; [the work is carried out] through the foreign and interior ministries, Interpol, intelligence services, and Iraqi embassies." According to al-Sudani, these efforts have yielded results, and "thousands of artifacts have been discovered."

The deputy minister explained that it is more difficult to track and determine even an approximate number of ancient artifacts that are "acquired through illegal excavations or private archaeological expeditions and then smuggled abroad." In this area, al-Sudani added, organized criminal groups are active, and their operations are monitored by the National Security and Intelligence Services in coordination with the Antiquities Authority.

Al-Sudani said that the Iraqi government has included returning ancient artifacts illegally removed from the country in its program for the coming years. He said that Iraq "needs to make efforts at the national level, not just at the ministerial level, to restore the cultural wealth that the country possesses. Work in this direction is ongoing, and the authorities will inform about the artifacts found at each stage of the process of returning them to Iraq.".