Russian-Israeli Taken Hostage By Iranian Militia In Iraq

An Iranian proxy militia has taken an Israeli-Russian academic hostage in Iraq, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says.

It does not yet appear that the Iran-backed Shiite group Kataib Hezbollah has made any negotiation demands for Elizabeth Tsurkov, who traveled to Iraq on her Russian passport to carry out research for her PhD studies in politics at Princeton University in the United States.

An expert on regional proxies across the Middle East including Turkey's proxies in Syria, she had traveled to several of the region's terror hotspots. Israel's Prime Minister's Office released a statement which confirmed Tsurkov is still alive, adding that the situation is being handled by the relevant bodies in Israel.

Tsurkov's mother Irena said they lost contact two months ago. "From what I had known until today, she was in Turkey, working on her research for Princeton. I didn't even know she was in Iraq," she told Israel's N12 News.

Tsurkov's Twitter page, which has nearly 80,000 followers, was last updated on March 21.

Israeli citizens are forbidden from travelling to Iraq — an enemy state where Kataib Hezbollah is one of the most powerful Iran-backed militia groups, with a history of attacking US targets in the area.