Iraq Says US to Return 17,000 Artifacts Looted after Invasion

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein speaks with Iraqi Culture Minister Hassan Nadhim during a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad, Iraq August 3, 2021. REUTERS/Saba Kareem
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein speaks with Iraqi Culture Minister Hassan Nadhim during a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad, Iraq August 3, 2021. REUTERS/Saba Kareem
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Iraq Says US to Return 17,000 Artifacts Looted after Invasion

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein speaks with Iraqi Culture Minister Hassan Nadhim during a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad, Iraq August 3, 2021. REUTERS/Saba Kareem
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein speaks with Iraqi Culture Minister Hassan Nadhim during a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad, Iraq August 3, 2021. REUTERS/Saba Kareem

The United States is returning more than 17,000 ancient artifacts looted and smuggled out of Iraq after the US invasion in 2003, including a 3,500-year-old clay tablet bearing part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Iraq said on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of antiquities disappeared from Iraq after the 2003 invasion that toppled leader Saddam Hussein. Many more were smuggled or destroyed by ISIS, which held a third of Iraq between 2014 and 2017 before it was defeated by Iraqi and international forces.

US authorities working to recover the artifacts recently reached an agreement with Baghdad to return items seized from dealers and museums in the United States, the Iraqi culture and foreign ministries said.

"The US government seized some of the artifacts and sent them to the (Iraqi) embassy. The Gilgamesh tablet, the important one, will be returned to Iraq in the next month after legal procedures are finalized," Culture Minister Hassan Nadhim told Reuters.

US authorities seized the Gilgamesh tablet in 2019 after it was smuggled, auctioned and sold to an arts dealer in Oklahoma and displayed at a museum in Washington, D.C., the Department of Justice said. A court ordered its forfeiture last month, it said.

It said that a US antiquities dealer had bought the tablet from a London-based dealer in 2003. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a 3,500-year-old Sumerian tale considered one of the world's first pieces of literature.

Nadhim said other artifacts being returned included other tablets inscribed in cuneiform script.



German Backpacker Escapes Australian Bush Ordeal by 'Sheer Luck'

German backpacker Carolina Wilga lost hope of rescue after 11 nights in the Australian bush. Handout / WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE FORCE/AFP
German backpacker Carolina Wilga lost hope of rescue after 11 nights in the Australian bush. Handout / WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE FORCE/AFP
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German Backpacker Escapes Australian Bush Ordeal by 'Sheer Luck'

German backpacker Carolina Wilga lost hope of rescue after 11 nights in the Australian bush. Handout / WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE FORCE/AFP
German backpacker Carolina Wilga lost hope of rescue after 11 nights in the Australian bush. Handout / WESTERN AUSTRALIAN POLICE FORCE/AFP

German backpacker Carolina Wilga lost hope of rescue after 11 nights in the Australian bush, and only made it out by "sheer luck", police said Saturday.

The 26-year-old walked "confused and disoriented" 24 kilometers (15 miles) away from her van after it got stuck in remote bushland in Western Australia, AFP reported.

As police searched for her by air, the backpacker's ordeal ended Friday when she managed to flag down a woman driving by who took her to police.

"She is still in disbelief that she was able to survive. In her mind, she had convinced herself that she was not going to be located," said Jessica Securo, acting inspector for the Western Australia police.

The rescue was down to "sheer luck".

"I actually spoke to Carolina this morning, so she confirmed that she was very confused and disorientated," Securo told a news conference.

"She basically looked at the direction of the sun and tried to head west, thinking that that would be her best bet of coming across someone or a road."

Wilga had been last seen on June 29 arriving in the van at a general store in the small agricultural community of Beacon, northeast of Perth.

Police found the van on Thursday, abandoned after getting stuck in dense bushland north of Beacon, with plastic orange traction tracks placed beneath the rear wheels.

"It appears that she has somewhat lost control of the vehicle, and then it's become mechanically unsound, and bogged," Securo said.

- 'Overwhelmed' -

She stayed with the van for one day before leaving the vehicle through "panic", hoping to find help.

Wilga was found "exhausted, dehydrated and hungry", suffering from cuts and bruises, but "overwhelmed" to have found someone to help her.

"She had minimal food and minimal water. From speaking to her, she has said she could have planned better."

The terrain "can be quite dangerous", Securo added.

Wilga remained in a Perth hospital and was not expected to be released on Saturday, still needing "emotional support" and treatment for some injuries.

"She's had a good night's sleep. She's had a shower. We've got her some food, which was a massive relief for her. So she's just taking it one day at a time at the moment."

The backpacker is now in "frequent communication" with her family who are relieved and thankful the Western Australian community came together to "throw every resource at locating their daughter", Securo said.

The family had no plans at this stage to travel to Australia.

Police say Wilga had spent two years backpacking around the country, and was working at mine sites in Western Australia while staying mostly at hostels.

"Carolina has told me that she loves Australia. She still has so much travel to do here. She hasn't made it over to the east coast yet, so that's still on her bucket list."