Also, I have emails out to all sorts of news orgs (Mid East and otherwise) to try to get more info on the original story.
Kuwait says it seized smuggled Iraq artefacts
KUWAIT, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Kuwaiti authorities have seized archaeological artefacts and "other items" smuggled from Iraq into Kuwait, Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah said in remarks published on Thursday.
"Kuwaiti security forces were able to seize some Iraqi artefacts smuggled to Kuwait," al-Sabah, who is also interior minister, was quoted as saying by al-Seyassah daily. He did not identify the other items.
Al-Sabah was responding to a question about a report the paper carried on Wednesday that Kuwaiti security forces had foiled an attempt to smuggle artefacts, chemical materials and biological warheads from Iraq to a European country via Kuwait.
Kuwaiti security sources told Reuters on Wednesday the report on the seizure of such weapons was baseless.
Asked about the report of seized biological warheads, al-Sabah also told al-Qabas newspaper: "Up to now we have not verified this...There are some artefacts that were seized which we are examining to see if they are real or fake."
Iraqi authorities estimate more than 10,000 artefacts are still missing from the Iraqi National Museum, including antiquities from the world's earliest civilisations. The museum was looted in April after the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein.
More than 400 items were also seized by Jordanian customs authorities at the border with Iraq.
"We are now going to present those (artefacts) to experts and specialists to check their authenticity. Other items have also been seized which we will examine and announce (the findings) soon," added al-Sabah.
Al-Sabah's remarks were made to reporters late on Wednesday after talks with Iraq's new interior minister Nouri Badran.
Badran, who discussed bilateral security issues with al-Sabah, was quoted as saying that many infiltrators into Iraq have been arrested recently, including Saudis and Syrians.
Official relations have warmed between Kuwait and Iraq after the ousting of Saddam, whose army invaded and occupied the tiny oil-rich country for seven months in 1990. ((editing by Alison Williams; Kuwait newsroom, +965 246 0350))