Jordan to return stolen antiquities to Iraq

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

AMMAN (AFP) — Jordan said on Wednesday it will return to Iraq around 2,466 artefacts, including gold coins and jewellery, which were stolen after the US-led invasion of its neighbour.

"The artefacts will be handed over on Sunday to the Iraqi state minister of tourism Mohammed Abbas Oreibi, who is currently in Amman," Jordanian tourism minister Maha Khatib said.

Khatib told the state-run Petra news agency that the "objects, which include Islamic and ancient manuscripts, have been seized by Jordanian customs officials."

Around 32,000 artefacts were looted from 12,000 archaeological sites around Iraq during the chaos that followed the 2003 invasion along with 15,000 items stolen from the Baghdad National Museum.

According to Iraqi officials, only 4,000...