25-05-2025
Talks to Free Israeli Hostage in Iraq Reach Final Stage
Negotiations to release Elizabeth Tsurkov, the Israeli researcher abducted in Iraq last year, have reached their final stage and are now awaiting her actual release, three sources told Asharq Al-Awsat, including a government official.
'The negotiations were extremely long and difficult, but they ended with a deal involving the payment of a ransom,' one source said, without disclosing the terms of the agreement.
Another source familiar with the talks said the group holding Tsurkov agreed to release her in exchange for the freeing of individuals involved in targeting US interests in the region, including one person holding Iranian citizenship.
'The deal is complete and all the details have been agreed on. Only the release of Tsurkov remains,' a second source said.
A spokesperson for Iraq's National Security Advisory declined to comment on the reported deal and denied knowledge of any arrangement to free Tsurkov.
An Iraqi security official also told Asharq Al-Awsat that the release had 'not yet taken place.'
Tsurkov, who also holds Russian citizenship, was abducted in March 2023 in Baghdad's Karada district, a commercial area that houses offices of powerful Shiite parties, Iran-aligned armed factions, and branches of Iraq's security services.
A doctoral researcher at Princeton University, Tsurkov had entered Iraq legally on an academic mission, according to Iraqi government officials.
No armed group has claimed responsibility for her abduction, but US and Israeli intelligence reports have pointed to Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group previously involved in the kidnapping and killing of foreigners in Iraq.
