Iraqi government investigating Israeli-Russian researcher kidnapping: Spox

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi government has launched a probe into the alleged kidnapping of an Israeli-Russian researcher in Iraq a few months ago, said the spokesperson for the government on Thursday.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday revealed that Elizabeth Tsurkov, a PhD candidate at Princeton University, has been missing in Iraq for over three months, accusing Iran-backed militia Kataeb Hezbollah of holding her.

“The Iraqi government is indeed conducting an official investigation,” Basim al-Awadi, the spokesperson for the Iraqi government told al-Ahad TV, the official mouthpiece of the pro-Iran Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, when asked about Tsurkov’s case.

The spokesperson did not provide any further clarification on the nature of the investigations, and stated that the government will only announce its position on the matter once it has concluded its probe.

“There is no official statement in this regard until the Iraqi government completes its official investigations and reaches results, after which, God willing, statements or official stances will be announced,” he added.

Abu Ali al-Askari, a senior Kataeb Hezbollah official, released a statement on his Telegram channel on Thursday, seemingly denying the militia’s involvement in Tsurkov’s disappearance.

Askari said that Netanyahu’s “confession of the presence of an Israeli security element held captive in Iraq is an extremely dangerous indication,” adding that the militia will increase its efforts to uncover the fate of the Israeli “captive or captives” in Iraq.

The statement from Netanyahu’s office claimed that the academic, who was visiting Iraq on her Russian passport, was still alive, holding Baghdad responsible for her safety.

Tsurkov’s latest social media sighting is a tweet on her Twitter account dating back to March 21. She has previously posted tweets that were pro Iraq’s influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the main rival of the Iran-backed militias in Iraq.

Iraq maintains a hardline stance against Israel. The Iraqi parliament in May of last year passed a bill criminalizing all relations with Israel and making it punishable by death. The law requires almost all officials, including those in the Kurdistan Region, government institutions, and media to refrain from establishing relations with Israel.