Iraqis are mourning the passing of archaeologist Lamia al-Gailani, who played an instrumental role in reestablishing the country's National Museum after it was looted following the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.



Colleagues and ordinary citizens gathered in the National Museum in Baghdad on January 21 to pay their respects to Gailani, who died on January 18 at the age of 80.



After the National Museum was looted in 2003, Gailani worked to identify stolen relics and to arrange exhibits for the reopening in 2015.



She also worked to open a new antiquities museum in the southern city of Basra in 2016.

Based on reporting by The National and AP