The United States has announced that it has returned 77 looted artifacts to Yemeni authorities. These archaeological treasures will be temporarily kept in a museum in Washington under an agreement with the Yemeni government. Federal Attorney in New York, Breon Peace, stated that the artifacts include "64 carved stone heads, 11 manuscript pages of the Quran, a decorated bronze vessel, and a funerary stele from the cultures of Ma'in or the Ma'in tribes in the northwestern highlands of Yemen, dating back to the first century B.C."
The federal attorney issued the statement in collaboration with the Departments of Homeland Security and State, as well as the Smithsonian Institution, which encompasses nearly 20 museums in the United States. The statement noted that the 64 carved stone heads were seized in the United States as part of a plea agreement with U.S. authorities in 2012 involving an antiquities smuggler named Musa Khuli, also known as "Morris" Khuli.
Yemeni Ambassador to the United States, Mohammed Al-Hadrami, expressed his "deep gratitude" to U.S. authorities.
