ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi prime minister’s office on Wednesday vowed to hold “accountable” those behind the abduction of US citizen and Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, following her release after more than two years in captivity.
United States President Donald Trump announced late Tuesday that Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia operating under Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi), had freed Tsurkov after “torturing [her] for many months.”
“We reaffirm that our security services will continue to pursue all those involved in this crime and ensure they are held accountable in accordance with the law,” Sabah al-Numan, spokesperson for Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, said in a statement.
Sudani confirmed the release, describing it as “a culmination of extensive efforts exerted by our security services.”
“We thank @IraqiPMO Sudani for his support in freeing Elizabeth. This is peace through strength in action,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X.
Tsurkov, a Princeton University academic, was abducted in Baghdad in 2023. Her sister, Emma, welcomed the news, thanking Trump and other US officials for “the support they provided.”
The premier’s spokesperson described the abduction by “a group of outlaws” as “a crime that does not represent the true state of security and stability prevailing throughout Iraq’s cities.” He added that Iraqi authorities “succeeded, on September 9, in locating and reaching the site of her detention” after “extensive and high-level security and intelligence efforts.”
The Iraqi Embassy in Washington said in a statement that Tsurkov’s release “reflects Iraq’s steadfast commitment to protecting its reputation and reinforcing its sovereignty, while ensuring that no party is allowed to insult Iraq or its people.”
In May, media reports suggested that Tsurkov’s release could be part of a prisoner swap involving Iran, Iraq, and Israel, with speculation that she might be exchanged for Hezbollah members, a detained officer of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and other Iranians held by the United States. Washington denied the claims, with State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce calling them “categorically false.”
In July 2023, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Kataib Hezbollah of kidnapping Tsurkov, saying she was alive and had entered Iraq on her Russian passport. Israel publicly held Baghdad responsible for her safety.
