--- description: The re-opening was brought forward as a response to the destruction of art by ISIS in Mosul title: Iraqi National Museum Looted During War Reopens in Baghdad image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f6f51264def3363/6987818d35ba6f7884c07581/iraq-national-museum.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Iraq](/tag/iraq/) ## Iraq Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Iraqi Museum Looted During War Reopens in Baghdad  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 28, 2015 3:20 PM CUT  Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, right, visits the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad Feb. 28, 2015. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, right, visits the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad Feb. 28, 2015.Reuters  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 28, 2015 3:20 PM CUT Iraq’s national museum has [reopened](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31672857 "undefined"), some twelve years after being looted during the U.S. military operations in Baghdad. The museum, which places back on display priceless artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia, was intentionally re-opened ahead of schedule, the BBC reports, as a response to the recent [destruction](http://time.com/3725026/isis-destruction-mosul-museum-artifacts/ "undefined") by the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria of sculptures at a museum in Mosul, Iraq. “Those barbaric, criminal terrorists are trying to destroy the heritage of mankind and Iraq’s civilization,” said Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. One-third of the 15,000 items stolen from the National Museum of Iraq during the Iraq War have reportedly been recovered. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-31672857 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3727272/iraq-museum-looted-baghdad/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3727272/iraq-museum-looted-baghdad/"},"headline":"Iraqi Museum Looted During War Reopens in Baghdad","datePublished":"2015-02-28T15:20:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:48:32.571Z","description":"The re-opening was brought forward as a response to the destruction of art by ISIS in Mosul","url":"https://time.com/3727272/iraq-museum-looted-baghdad/","keywords":["Iraq","ISIS","World","Baghdad"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f6f51264def3363/6987818d35ba6f7884c07581/iraq-national-museum.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel D'Addario","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f6f51264def3363/6987818d35ba6f7884c07581/iraq-national-museum.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visits the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad","caption":"Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visits the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad","creditText":"Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/iraq/","name":"Iraq"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3727272/iraq-museum-looted-baghdad/","name":"Iraqi Museum Looted During War Reopens in Baghdad"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: ISIS Destroys Artifacts at Iraqi Museum","description":"Video has surfaced of ISIS militants smashing ancient artifacts on display in the Mosul, Iraq, museum","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Ut93lblH/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-02-27T15:47:29.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Ut93lblH.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3727272/iraq-museum-looted-baghdad/","duration":"PT1M3S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3727272/iraq-museum-looted-baghdad/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```