By Ibrahim Saleh
BAGHDAD (AA) - Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Sunday inaugurated the newly-renovated National Museum in Baghdad.
Al-Kadhimi visited a section of artifacts recovered from the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, Italy, and Lebanon, his office said in a statement.
During his tour, the Iraqi premier hailed efforts of the Culture Ministry and other agencies to recover Iraq’s looted archaeological pieces.
“Iraq has the right to recover all its archaeological pieces that were smuggled or stolen before 2003,” al-Kadhimi said.
According to Iraqi estimates, more than 15,000 archaeological pieces dating back to the Babylonian, Assyrian, and Islamic eras were looted from the National Museum in Baghdad.
In December, a 3,500-year-old clay tablet featuring an engraving from part of the ancient Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh was recovered from the US.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara