Saudi Arabia takes back 9139 artifacts from US

Saudi Arabia has taken back 9,139 artifacts from U.S. employees who worked for Saudi oil company ( Aramco) until October 2013, Al Eqtisadiya newspaper reported on Monday. The artifacts were brought back in coordination with Saudi foreign ministry and Saudi embassy in Washington, the newspaper said. The Saudi Public Agency for Tourism and Archeology has started sorting the artifacts that represent different stages of Saudi history, the paper said. Aramco employees are working in desert areas with various civilizations centuries ago. In 2012, seven U.S. citizens returned similar artifacts to the Saudi government after keeping them for decades, according to Al Youm newspaper. Last year, Saudi Arabia announced a new regime with tough penalties on artifact traffickers. Prince Sultan bin Salman said the country tracked down some valued artifacts in different countries last year.