Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told Axios on Thursday that the Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was abducted two years ago in Baghdad by an Iraqi Shia militia, is alive. The minister stressed that Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani is working for her release.
Tsurkov, 36, holds both Israeli and Russian citizenship and resided in the US while working on her doctorate at Princeton University. It is believed that she is being held by the Iranian-backed militia "Kataeb Hezbollah (KH)."
In July 2023, it was cleared for publication that Tsurkov, who had been missing for four months, was being held by the Shia militia.
At the time, the Prime Minister's Office stated: "We hold Iraq responsible for her safety and well-being. She is an academic who visited Iraq on her Russian passport, at her own initiative pursuant to work on her doctorate and academic research on behalf of Princeton University in the US.
"The matter is being handled by the relevant parties in the State of Israel out of concern for Elizabeth Tsurkov's security and well-being."
Irena, Tsurkov's mother, claimed to Channel 13: "No government official contacted me, they didn't update me about anything. The last time I heard from her was two months ago in Turkey, and she said everything was fine and she wasn't available because she had no reception. I don't understand what happened, suddenly, the press started talking to me."