BAGHDAD: Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov has been released in Iraq after 903 days in captivity following her kidnapping in Baghdad in March 2023.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and US President Donald Trump jointly announced her freedom on Tuesday after extensive security and intelligence operations.
Sudani stated on social media platform X that Tsurkov’s release culminated months of effort by Iraqi security services, referring to her as a Russian citizen.
Trump revealed on Truth Social that Kataeb Hezbollah, a powerful pro-Iran group, had released Tsurkov after what he described as months of torture, confirming her current location at the US embassy in Baghdad.
Sabah al-Numan, military spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, detailed the successful operation that located and reached Tsurkov’s detention site on September 9 following high-level security efforts.
Tsurkov was delivered to the US embassy to facilitate reunion with her sister Emma, an American citizen, according to official statements.
Emma Tsurkov expressed her family’s overwhelming happiness and gratitude to Trump, special envoy Adam Boehler, the US embassy, and non-profit group Global Reach for their roles in the release.
Numan confirmed that Iraqi security forces would continue pursuing all those involved in what he called a crime committed by a group of outlaws, without naming any specific party.
Tsurkov was a Princeton University doctoral candidate and New Lines Institute fellow researching pro-Iran factions and Shiite leader Moqtada Sadr’s movement when she disappeared.
She had entered Iraq using her Russian passport and was abducted while leaving a cafe in Baghdad’s Karrada neighbourhood, according to a 2023 Iraqi intelligence source.
While Israeli authorities previously blamed Kataeb Hezbollah for her disappearance, the group had initially denied involvement in the abduction.
A source within Kataeb Hezbollah told news agencies that Tsurkov was released to avoid conflicts and facilitate US troop withdrawal from Iraq without fighting.
The source emphasised that no military operation secured her freedom, characterizing the event as a release rather than a liberation.
Kataeb Hezbollah, integrated into Iraq’s regular security forces as part of the Popular Mobilisation force, has developed a reputation for independent action beyond government control.
The group and other Iran-backed factions have repeatedly called for the withdrawal of US troops deployed in Iraq as part of the anti-Islamic State coalition.
US forces in Iraq and Syria faced numerous attacks from these groups following the October 2023 Gaza war outbreak, prompting heavy retaliatory strikes that have since ceased.
The US and Iraq have announced plans to conclude the anti-IS coalition’s military mission in federal Iraq by 2025 and in the Kurdistan region by September 2026. – AFP
