President Donald Trump said on Sept. 9 that Princeton graduate student Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was kidnapped in Iraq in 2023, had been freed by the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah and transferred to U.S. custody.
Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian dual citizen, was kidnapped in March 2023 while carrying out research in Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq. Kataib Hezbollah has never claimed responsibility for her abduction.
Trump announced on Truth Social that Tsurkov has been released by the Iran-backed group and is now safe at the U.S. embassy in Baghdad “after being tortured for many months.”
“I will always fight for JUSTICE, and never give up,” the president said, calling on Hamas to release the remaining Isreali hostages taken during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that prompted Israel to launch military offensive targeting Hamas terrorists in Gaza….