Israeli-Russian hostage Elizabeth Tsurkov is alive, Iraq working on her release

An Israeli-Russian researcher from Princeton, Elizabeth Tsurkov, held hostage by an Iraqi militia, is alive, and Iraq is working on her release, said the Iraqi foreign minister, Fouad Hussein, on Thursday to Axios journalist Barak Ravid.

Tsurkov's kidnapping came to light in early July by Israel. However, the young woman, who is believed to have entered Iraq with a Russian passport, was kidnapped in the Iraqi capital at the end of March.

In November 2024, the Iraqi television channel Al-Rabiaa broadcast the first video of the hostage since her kidnapping. Tsurkov claimed to have worked for the Israeli intelligence service Mossad and the American CIA in Syria and Iraq. At the end of the video, she stated that nothing had been done to secure her release.

In early July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office disclosed Tsurkov's disappearance, ensuring that she was held by the “Shia militia Hezbollah Brigades,” an influential pro-Iranian Iraqi armed group. The Hezbollah Brigades quickly responded, implying they were not responsible for the kidnapping.

Tsurkov's trip to Iraq was intended for her research as part of her doctorate at Princeton University.

This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.