Security forces seize rare antiquities across Iraq

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq’s National Security Service (INSS) recovered hundreds of rare antiquities in separate operations across six provinces, the agency said on Monday.

In Baghdad, the recovered collection included five statues, five pottery pieces, a cylinder seal, and ancient coins. The INSS said authorities began legal procedures to confiscate the items before handing them over to the relevant agencies for preservation.

In separate operations in Kirkuk, Nineveh, Al-Anbar, Babil, and Wasit, security forces seized hundreds of artifacts, manuscripts, and rare gold coins and arrested several suspected dealers and smugglers.

The INSS also said it caught a government employee dividing archaeological land into plots for sale in Nineveh.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities, Iraq recovered more than 40,000 artifacts in 2024 and 2025 through seizures inside the country and repatriation efforts abroad. In May, the INSS found 255 archaeological artifacts concealed in abandoned quarries between Basra and Dhi Qar.

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