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Israeli Graduate Student Abducted in Iraq by Iran-Linked Militia
(Washington Post) Mikhail Klimentov - Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian dual citizen and a graduate student at Princeton University, is being held captive by a Shiite militia, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday. Tsurkov was conducting doctoral research in Baghdad when she went missing in March. "Elizabeth Tsurkov is still alive," the prime minister's office said, "and we hold Iraq responsible for her safety and well-being." Israeli media reports said Russian and Israeli officials were cooperating in efforts to secure the researcher's release. Israel identified Tsurkov's captors as the Shiite militia Kataib Hizbullah, a group closely affiliated with Iran that has been linked to other kidnap attempts involving foreigners. Gisha, an Israeli nongovernmental organization at which Tsurkov previously worked, characterized the academic as an advocate "for the human rights and the well-being of Palestinians in Gaza."