An Israeli-Russian graduate student from Princeton University in New Jersey who was kidnapped by a Shiite militia in Iraq in 2023 has been released from captivity and is now in US custody, US President Donald Trump and the student’s family said on Tuesday.

While Iraq said a “group of outlaws” kidnapped Elizabeth Tsurkov, Trump announced she was released by the powerful pro-Iran Kataeb Hezbollah militia group.

“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,” Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on X, without noting her Israeli citizenship.

Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Tsurkov “was just released” by Kataeb Hezbollah “after being tortured for many months” and was now 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 locating and reaching the site of her detention.”

Tsurkov was delivered to the US embassy to “facilitate her reunion with her sister, a US citizen,” he added.

Numan also said Tsurkov was kidnapped by a “group of outlaws” without naming any party, and stated that Iraq’s security forces “will continue to pursue all those involved in this crime and ensure they are held accountable.”

Tsurkov’s sister, Emma, a US citizen who has campaigned for her release, said she was in Washington for meetings this week when she heard the news from Adam Boehler, the US special presidential envoy for hostage affairs.

The sisters were able to connect by phone and expect to be reunited in the next 24 hours, though the details were still being worked........

© The Times of Israel