The Russian-Israeli national has been held hostage for four months by the Kataeb Hezbollah militia, which is not affiliated with the Lebanese terrorist organization
A senior Israeli official assured Wednesday night that the Jewish state is doing everything in its power to bring back Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian citizen who was held hostage for four months in Iraq by a militia known as the Kataeb Hezbollah connection with the Lebanese terrorist organization. It is one of the most powerful groups, part of Hashd al-Shaabi, a coalition of former pro-Iranian paramilitaries now integrated into regular Iraqi forces. “It seems that those who kidnapped her knew in advance that she is Israeli. Israel has been following this case for some time. The state is doing everything possible to bring them home and is taking appropriate measures,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
He recalled that “Iraq is officially considered an enemy state. Israeli law prohibits its citizens from traveling to this country, even if they have another nationality. However, this was not his first trip to Iraq, nor to a country that poses risks,” the official said. In Iraq, no armed group claimed responsibility for such a kidnapping, and the Iraqi authorities did not immediately comment on the announcement.
“Israel is considering multiple avenues and considering various options to secure Elizabeth’s release (…) We are exploring ways to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future and we will take action to that end in the future.” Government level,” the official insisted. “We were informed of the kidnapping a few days after her capture. The information is now being relayed abroad and we can officially confirm it. We have been assured that she is alive and in good health. The Iraqi government will be held responsible for their safety,” the officer explained.
Elizabeth Tsurkov arrived in Baghdad “early December 2022” with a “Russian passport,” according to a Western diplomat stationed in Iraq, who asked not to be identified.
“She is an academic who, with her Russian passport, traveled to Iraq on her own initiative as part of her PhD and academic research for Princeton University in the United States,” specifies the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office. According to an Iraqi intelligence source, she was kidnapped in the Iraqi capital “at the beginning of Ramadan,” the Muslim month of fasting that began on March 23 this year.
Elizabeth Tsurkov’s trip to Iraq was for her PhD. In her last tweet on March 21, she published an article she had written for the New Lines Institute, a research center based in the United States.
At the end of March, an Iraqi secret service agent reported her kidnapping as she was leaving a café in Baghdad’s Kerrada district. Witnesses who knew the researcher said she moved freely in the Iraqi capital. She was active on social networks and in contact with several journalists and researchers in the region.
On her website, she says she works for the Forum for Regional Thinking, an Israeli-Palestinian research center based in Jerusalem. She presents her research as motivated by a desire to “understand and report on” the opinions and experiences of people in the Middle East.