WASHINGTON, D.C.- University of Chicago archaeologist McGuire Gibson reported that the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement told him on June 13 that the official count of missing items had reached 6,000 and was climbing as museum and Customs investigators proceeded with an inventory of three looted storerooms. 

The looting took place at Iraq’s National Museum of Antiquities during a prolonged looting spree as U.S. forces entered Baghdad. A week earlier than June 13, Customs reported half the amount of looted items. According to Gibson, the final number could be "far, far worse." A spokesman for Customs said they did not have an updated report.

Gibson said there are "thousands of things that are broken" and not listed as missing. Gibson further stated: “Like any museum, the display collection is an iceberg. Because this is an archaeological museum, there’s a huge amount of stuff that’s important to the sites themselves and to researchers, but never goes on display."