Iraq recovers ancient artifacts from Japan and Switzerland

Iraq's foreign minister announced on Tuesday the retrieval of various artifacts and textured paintings from Japan and Switzerland.

Minister Fuad Hussein, speaking from the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad, stated that the recovered items include "the statue of the sun god, Maran Shamash, and rare murals from the 8th century B.C. associated with the Assyrian civilization, along with several textured paintings from the ancient al-Tar caves."

He noted that some of these artifacts, particularly the textured paintings, were loaned to a Japanese archaeological mission that operated in Iraq during the 1970s.

The antiquities, which trace back to ancient Mesopotamia and the Assyrian civilization, were returned to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry via Iraq's embassies in Tokyo and Bern.

Iraq has faced significant looting of its antiquities over decades of conflict and instability, and while many ancient archaeological sites remain inadequately protected, the government has been gradually reclaiming its stolen heritage in recent years.