Baghdad: Iraqi designer Rifat Chadirji has returned to Baghdad to reconstruct the elegant arch called The Unknown Soldier that was a Baghdad landmark for decades.

The monument, considered Chadirji's magnum opus, was destroyed during the era of Saddam Hussain.

The government has commissioned Chadirji to rebuild it. He is working on the preliminary blueprints.

"I am very happy about this commission and the interest in rebuilding the Unknown Soldier, which was so rudely removed," the 82-year-old architect told reporters.

"I want to rebuild it quickly so I can live to see every moment of this important event... This is just as important to me now as it was when I built it the first time," he said.