Friday March 31, 2006 4:46 AM
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - American forces are damaging the ancient city of Kish and must withdraw from the 5,000-year-old archaeological site, an Iraqi ministry said Thursday.
The Ministry of State for Tourism and Antiquities Affairs said U.S. forces had set up a camp in Kish, near Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad.
In a statement, the ministry said the U.S. military was preventing anyone from entering this important archaeological site to assess the damage, which was not specified.
The U.S. military had no immediate comment.
Last year, the British Museum said that U.S.-led troops using the ancient Iraqi city of Babylon as a base had damaged and contaminated artifacts dating back thousands of years in one of the world's most important ancient sites.
The U.S. military then said all earth moving had been halted and that all engineering work were discussed with the head of the Babylon museum.
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