An Israeli-Russian researcher was released after “being tortured for several months” by his Iraqi militia abductors, US President Donald Trump said.
In an article on Truth Social, Trump said: “I am happy to announce that Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton student, whose sister is an American citizen, has just been released by Kataib Hezbollah, and is now safe in the American Embassy in Iraq”.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani confirmed the release of Ms. Tsurkov shortly after.
She had disappeared in Iraq during a research trip in March 2023 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said several months later that she was detained by Kataib Hezbollah supported by Iran.
In an article on X, Souani said that the release of Ms. Tsurkov was “a culmination of in -depth efforts extented by our security services in several months”.
He added that the security services on Tuesday had been able to “discover” the place where the student had been detained, before putting it back to the Embassy of the United States.
Ms. Tsurkov entered Iraq on her Russian passport, said Netanyahu’s office at the time.
According to Ms. Tsurkov’s website, his research focuses on the Levant – a historical term which refers to a large geographic region, including current Israel, Syria and other areas – and “Syrian uprising and civil war”.
Kataib Hezbollah (Brigades of the Party of God) is a powerful Iraqi Shiite militia who obtains financial and military support from Iran. He was appointed by the United States as a terrorist organization in 2009.
In Tuesday post on Truth Social, Trump also said: “I will still fight for justice and I will never give up.
“Hamas, release the hostages now!” He added, in a reference to these people seized by the Palestinian group during his fatal attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.
