Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov arrived in Israel on Monday, a day after she was released more than two years after her kidnapping in Baghdad.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the release of Tsurkov, who had been held hostage since March 2023.

"Elizabeth Tsurkov, who had been held hostage in Iraq and was released last night, has landed in Israel," said a joint statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office and the Mossad intelligence service.

The statement added that she had transited through Cyprus, while Israeli media said she would be taken to Sheba Hospital near Tel Aviv.

While Iraq said "outlaws" kidnapped Tsurkov, Trump announced she was released by the powerful pro-Iran Kataeb Hezbollah group.

Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Tsurkov "was just released" by Kataeb Hezbollah "after being tortured for many months", and had arrived at the US embassy in Baghdad.

Sabah al-Numan, the military spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, said later in a statement that "following extensive and high-level security and intelligence efforts... authorities succeeded, on September 9, in........

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