Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday the release of Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped in Baghdad in March 2023.
"As a culmination of extensive efforts exerted by our security services over the course of many months, we announce the release of the Russian citizen, Elizabeth Tsurkov," Sudani said on X.
Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Tsurkov "was just released" by the powerful pro-Iran Kataeb Hezbollah group "after being tortured for many months" and was now at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.
Tsurkov, a doctoral student at Princeton University, was kidnapped in Baghdad in March 2023.
There was no claim of responsibility for her abduction back then, but Israel accused Kataeb Hezbollah of holding Tsurkov.
Tsurkov, who is likely to have entered Iraq on her Russian passport, traveled to the country as part of her doctoral studies.
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