"Today we are opening the Nasiriyah Museum. In a few days we will open the Musanna Museum. We are currently conducting archaeological digs. We took these steps in response to the ISIL project to destroy our cultural heritage," the Iraqi official said during the opening ceremony.
The museum was closed in 1991 when a rebellion broke out in Nasiriyah against former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. All museum artifacts were transferred to the country's capital Baghdad.
In June 2014, the ISIL militant group declared a caliphate on large areas of seized territory of Syria and Iraq. The Islamic State destroyed many historic sights, churches and mosques, believing that artifacts were a threat to their existence because they were "false idols."
Last month, IS militants destroyed ancient statues at the museum of Mosul, the Iraqi city declared by the group to be the capital of its caliphate. The aggression was condemned by UNESCO and the UN Security Council.
In March, the Iraqi Government reopened the Baghdad Museum, closed since 2003.
