Baghdad - Iraq's National Museum reopened Monday, six years after it was looted and vandalised in the aftermath of the 2003 US-led invasion.

It is estimated that about 15,000 artefacts and antiquities were stolen in the chaos that accompanied Saddam Hussein's ousting. Some 6,000 items have been retrieved.

"It was a dark age that Iraq passed through," Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said during the reopening ceremony Monday. A "wave of ignorance" had swept the country following the invasion.

"I'd like to offer my sincerest thanks to all the countries which stood by Iraq, whether through their contributions towards rebuilding this museum or returning the smuggled artefacts," he said.

"We want to make our museum a place which will be at the forefront of international museums. There's a long road ahead of us." (dpa)