Many antiquities have been looted not only from museums, but also from illegal excavations conducted in archaeological sites across Iraq , following the US invasion in 2003, according to a report published on the English-language website of Al-Jazeera on Friday.

In this context, the Iraqi government is doing its best to recover lost cultural relics, but there is still a lot of work to do, according to the report.

Haider Farhan, an archaeologist and professor of antiquities at the University of Baghdad, was quoted as saying, "There are no official statistics on the number of stolen antiquities."

Many Iraqis blamed the United States for the loss of many artifacts relating to their country's history.

During the invasion, US officials expressed dismay at the apparent reluctance of military leaders to protect archaeological sites, including the Iraqi National Museum, according to the report.

The archaeological researcher, Amer Abdel-Razzaq, was quoted as saying, "American tanks surrounded the Iraqi Museum during the period of occupation and chaos, but did not move a finger in the face of the mafia and antiquities thieves who attacked the museum and stole about 14,000 valuable pieces from it."

At the same time, he indicated that the default was intentional. "Although the US military later committed itself to protecting Iraqi antiquities due to pressure from Iraqi archaeological institutions, at first, it took the archaeological sites as bases and camps," the report said, quoting Abdul Razzaq.

Despite the fact that the United States has already returned thousands of artifacts to Iraq, Abdul Razzaq believes this is not enough.

"What has been recovered is only a small amount. There are still pieces being sold at auctions in the United States, Britain and other countries," Abdul Razzaq was quoted as saying.