After being taken as a war trophy by U.S. military personnel, a 43-inch ceremonial sword belonging to Saddam Hussein returned to Iraqi officials on Monday, July 29.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division discovered the ornate sword when an auction house in Manchester, New Hampshire tried to sell it. It had already been purchased for $15,000 (€11,300) on January 7, 2012 when it was held from the auction house by the HSI. They found out that it 'cannot be considered a modern battlefield weapon' and therefore was 'not eligible to be exported as a war trophy.'
The embellished blade and sheath has gold ornamented Arabic writing along the edge of the blade which says it was a gift to the Saddam Hussein.
The sword was surrendered on April 30, 2012, but wasn't physically returned to the Iraqi government until Monday when James Dinkins, executive associate director of HSI, personally brought the object to Iraqi Ambassador Lukman Faily. He handed the sword over to Iraqi Ambassador Lukman Faily saying "Cultural property - such as the sword being returned today to the people of Iraq - represents part of a country's history that should have never been stolen or auctioned. We will continue conducting these types of investigations to ensure that current and future generations aren't robbed of their nation's history."
The Post stated that Iraqi ambassador Lukman Failey said "Today is one of these historic days that documents the deep relationship, cooperation and friendship between Iraq and the United States and also shows again the U.S. commitment for rebuilding Iraq and preserving its cultural heritage."
He said it displayed the commitment of the United States to restore Iraq and preserve its cultural heritage.
According to ICE's website, between 2008 and 2011 the agency returned several cultural objects belonging to Iraq, including Saddam-era paintings, AK-47 rifles, a Western Asiatic necklace, clay statues, terra cotta cones, ancient gold earrings, ancient tablets and coins.
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