Israeli-Russian woman kidnapped in 2023 freed in Iraq

By Ahmet Salih Alacaci

WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian researcher, was released in Iraq after being held captive since 2023 by a Shia militant group in the country.

“I am pleased to report that Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton Student, whose sister is an American Citizen, was just released by Kataib Hezbollah,” Trump said on the US social media company Truth Social’s platform, which he owns.

Trump said Tsurkov, who “was tortured for many months,” is now at the American Embassy in Baghdad. He also called on the Palestinian group Hamas to release all hostages immediately.

In a separate social media post, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said Tsurkov’s release came “as a culmination of extensive efforts exerted by our security services over the course of many months.”

“We reaffirm, once again, that we will not tolerate any compromise in enforcing the law and upholding the authority of the state, nor will we allow anyone to undermine the reputation of Iraq and its people,” al-Sudani said.

Tsurkov was reported missing in Iraq in March 2023. At the time, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office said she was being held by Kataib Hezbollah, stressing that she was alive and that “Iraq is responsible for her fate and safety.”

Iraqi authorities did not comment on the abduction, and the country maintains no diplomatic ties with Israel. In 2022, Iraq’s parliament passed legislation banning all forms of normalization with Tel Aviv.

Tsurkov, who holds both Israeli and Russian citizenship, was conducting academic research in Iraq when she disappeared.