Updated

Police in Abu Dhabi say they've arrested three foreigners for trying to sell smuggled antiquities.

A statement carried by the state-run WAM news agency on Tuesday said that those arrested at a hotel in the capital of the United Arab Emirates had antique daggers, old coins and other items they tried to sell for a high price.

Police identified the three as being Arabs, without offering any specifics on who they were, their nationalities or the providence of the stolen items. It wasn't clear if those arrested had lawyers.

Mideast antiquities increasingly have popped up for sale on the black market, especially those stolen from territory seized by the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria. Experts say militants are using sales of those antiquities to fund their attacks.