Israel’s prime minister says missing citizen in Iraq is being held by Iran-backed militia

JERUSALEM (AP) — The office of Israel’s prime minister says a dual Israeli-Russian citizen who has been missing in Iraq for months is being held by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday that Elizabeth Tsurkov, who disappeared in late March, is still alive “and we hold Iraq responsible for her safety and well-being.” Tsurkov is an academic whose work focuses on the Middle East and specifically war-torn Syria. There has been no official comment from Iraq since she went missing. But days after her disappearance, a local website reported that an Iranian citizen who was involved in her kidnapping was detained by Iraqi authorities.