http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4461755.stmIt is two years since looters ravaged one of the world's most important museums, in central Baghdad.
Saddam Hussein's power had collapsed and the newly arrived US-led coalition forces were unable to prevent a crime against history.
Professional smugglers connected to the international antiquities mafia managed to break some of the sealed doors of the Baghdad Museum storage rooms.
They looted priceless artefacts such as the museum's entire collection of cylindrical seals and large numbers of Assyrian ivory carvings.
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Coalition forces have themselves damaged archaeological sites by using them as military bases.
The withdrawal of coalition troops from Babylon has revealed irreversible damage to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
An alarming report by the keeper of the British Museum's Near East department, Dr John Curtis, describes how areas in the middle of the archaeological site were levelled to create a landing area for helicopters and parking lots for heavy vehicles. The bush gang -- a bunch of uneducated, barbaric thugs -- with no interest nor understanding of history.