Princeton student Elizabeth Tsurkov who was kidnapped in Iraq eight months ago is seen in new hostage video claiming to have been working for CIA and Mossad to organize protests and incite clashes

A Princeton student kidnapped in Iraq eight months ago appears in a new video claiming to be a spy organizing protests and inciting clashes.

Elizabeth Tsurkov, 36, disappeared from Baghdad in late March – and is believed to be held by the Shiite group Kataeb Hezbollah or Hezbollah Brigades, an Iranian-backed militia classified as a terrorist group by the United States.

In the clip uploaded to Telegram, Tsurkov is seen allegedly ‘confessing’ to being a Mossad and CIA agent, and that she has tried to spark violence and demonstrations in Iraq, reports Israel National News.

The video, in which the academic speaks Hebrew and is dubbed into Arabic, could not be independently verified by Reuters or DailyMail.com. The clip has raised suspicions that Tsurkov may have been coerced into making the confession.

Tsurkov – who is not a US citizen but attends the academic institution in New Jersey – had traveled to the Iraqi capital while conducting PhD research.

The U.S. State Department and Tsurkov’s family have been contacted for comment.

Elizabeth Tsurkov, 36, disappeared from Baghdad in late March – and is believed to be held by the Shiite group Kataeb Hezbollah or Hezbollah Brigades, an Iranian-backed militia classified as a terrorist group by the United States.

In July, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said that Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian academic, is still alive and that they “hold Iraq responsible for its security and well-being.”

That of the group leader and founder Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis was killed in a US airstrike near Baghdad International Airport in January 2020, along with General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force and the architect of its regional military alliances.

Tsurkov, whose work focuses on the Middle East, and in particular war-torn Syria, is an expert on regional affairs and has been widely quoted by international media over the years, Tsurkov last tweeted at 21 March.

She is a fellow at the Washington-based think tank New Lines Institute.

Her colleague Hassan Hassan, editor-in-chief of New Lines Magazine, said colleagues were informed of her kidnapping in Iraq on March 29. Hassan said some of her colleagues had been in contact with her just days before she went missing.

Netanyahu said Tsurkov is being held by the Shiite group Kataeb Hezbollah or Hezbollah Brigades, a powerful Iranian-backed group that the US government designated as a terrorist organization in 2009.

“We couldn’t believe the news, knowing what Iraq has been like for any scientist or researcher in recent years,” he said. “But there is hope that she will be released through negotiations.”

He added that they “have called on the United States government to be involved in securing her release, despite her not being a U.S. citizen.”

Netanyahu said Tsurkov is an academic who visited Iraq on her Russian passport, “on her own initiative, in the context of her doctorate and academic research on behalf of Princeton University.”

Tsurkov could not have used her Israeli passport to enter Iraq as the two countries do not have diplomatic relations.

Emma Tsurkov, her sister, said earlier: ‘The current level of pressure is unsatisfactory. It’s just not enough. My sister is wasting away at the hands of this terrorist organization. And it’s been almost six months.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said she is being held by the Shiite group Kataeb Hezbollah. The Hezbollah group has close ties to the Iraqi government.

Tsurkov is trying to draw attention to her sister’s fate and met with State Department and Israeli and Russian government officials in Washington this week.

She had hoped to have a separate meeting at the Iraqi embassy, ​​but said officials there “put me off.”

In this September 2018 selfie image provided by Emma Tsurkov, right, she and Elizabeth Tsurkov are shown in Santa Clara Valley, California

A colleague said they have contacted U.S. and foreign officials, including at Princeton University, where Tsurkov is pursuing her doctorate, for help

Tsurkov, whose work focuses on the Middle East, and in particular war-torn Syria, is an expert on regional affairs and has been widely quoted by international media over the years

The Stanford University sociology researcher said: ‘I really never wanted to do this. But I realized that everyone is interested, but no one will do anything to actually bring her home.

‘And everyone just hopes that someone else will do that, and pass the buck. But at the end of the day, I don’t see anything being done to bring my sister back.”

Elizabeth Tsurkov is not a U.S. citizen, which limits the resources available to the U.S. government and the immediate ability of Washington officials to secure her release.

But Emma Tsurkov claims the US government still has substantial influence, as her sister has significant US ties as a “graduate student at a US institution approved and funded for research.”

In a statement, Princeton spokesman Michael Hotchkiss said the university was “deeply concerned” about the well-being of Elizabeth Tsurkov and called her a “valued member of the university community.”

He said that after learning of her disappearance, the school immediately contacted U.S. and Israeli government officials.

“Elizabeth’s family subsequently requested that the university not involve government officials in the interest of keeping the matter private,” he said.

“As soon as the situation became public, the university has and continues to communicate with relevant government officials and experts to understand how we can best support Elizabeth’s safe return to her family and her studies at Princeton.”

Iran emerged as a major power broker in Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003in support of Shia groups and militias that have since enjoyed great influence in the country.

Days after her disappearance, a local website reported that an Iranian national involved in her kidnapping was being held by Iraqi authorities.

It said the woman had been kidnapped from Baghdad’s central Karradah district and that the Iranian embassy in the Iraqi capital was pressing for the man’s release and for him to be deported to Iran.

Some Iraqi activists at the time posted a copy of an Iranian man’s passport and claimed he was involved in the kidnapping.

Netanyahu’s office said Tsurkov’s case is being handled by the “relevant parties in the State of Israel out of concern for the safety and well-being of Elizabeth Tsurkov.”