Iraq National Museum

Iraq's national museum officially reopened today after 12 years of painstaking efforts during which close to a third of 15,000 pieces looted during the US-led invasion were recovered.

The head of the United Nations' cultural agency on Thursday demanded an emergency meeting of the world body's Security Council following the mass destruction by jihadists of ancient artefacts in Iraq.

Ur's palaces and temples lie in ruins, but its hulking Ziggurat still dominates the desert flatlands of what is now southern Iraq, as it has for millennia.

Iraq's national museum officially reopened today after 12 years of painstaking efforts during which close to a third of 15,000 pieces looted during the US-led invasion were recovered.

The head of the United Nations' cultural agency on Thursday demanded an emergency meeting of the world body's Security Council following the mass destruction by jihadists of ancient artefacts in Iraq.

Ur's palaces and temples lie in ruins, but its hulking Ziggurat still dominates the desert flatlands of what is now southern Iraq, as it has for millennia.