President Donald Trump said a Princeton student held captive by the Iraqi militant group Kataib Hezbollah was released after “months of torture.”
Elizabeth Tsurkov, 38, a Russian Israeli researcher, was conducting research in Baghdad when she was abducted at a cafe on March 21, 2023. After months of no updates on her whereabouts, Trump announced in a Tuesday post on Truth Social that she had been released after 903 days in captivity.
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“I am pleased to report that Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton Student, whose sister is an American Citizen, was just released by Kata’ib Hezbollah (MILITANT Hezbollah), and is now safely in the American Embassy in Iraq after being tortured for many months. I will always fight for JUSTICE, and never give up,” Trump said.
He then used the issue to bring attention to the remaining hostages being held in Gaza, adding, “HAMAS, RELEASE THE HOSTAGES, NOW!”
Tsurkov’s sister, Emma Tsurkov, expressed gratitude to Trump and his special envoy, Adam Boehler, for releasing her sister.
“My entire family is incredibly happy. We cannot wait to see Elizabeth and give her all the love we have been waiting to share for 903 days. We are so thankful to President Trump and his Special Envoy, Adam Boehler. If Adam had not made my sister’s return his personal mission, I do not know where we would be. We also want to thank Josh Harris and his team at the US Embassy in Baghdad for the support they provided to our sister and the team at the nonprofit Global Reach, who advocated relentlessly for my sister’s safe return,” Emma Tsurkov said.
Elizabeth Tsurkov, born in the Soviet Union but who moved to Israel at age 4, served in the Israel Defense Forces when she came of age. She was kidnapped after contacting a relative of a Kataib Hezbollah leader, who learned of her Israeli citizenship.
Tsurkov contributed her writings, focusing on the Middle East, to several outlets before her captivity. In March 2020, she wrote an article for the Washington Examiner on the Turkish intervention in the Syrian civil war.
Kataib Hezbollah is unrelated to the better-known Hezbollah of Lebanon, though both are Shiite militias heavily backed by Iran. Kataib Hezbollah is one of the main groups that make up the Popular Mobilization Forces, a network of Shiite militias integrated into the Iraqi government’s security apparatus, despite being designated a terrorist group by the United States.
Kataib Hezbollah’s first leader, Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, was killed by the U.S. in January 2020 in the same drone strike that killed Iranian Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani.