Deal to release Israeli hostage in Iraq to be carried out in about a week — report

A deal for the release of Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian academic kidnapped nearly two years ago in Baghdad, will be carried out in around a week, according to the Iraqi Al Rabaa channel, aligned with pro-Iranian militias.

Tsurkov is being held in Iraq by the Shiite militia Kataib Hezbollah, a group backed by Iran, according to Israeli officials.

According to the report, Tsurkov will be released in exchange for an Iranian and six other individuals held in Iraq over attacks on American targets.

Earlier, the Saudi Al Hadath TV network reported, citing Iraqi sources, that “significant efforts” were underway to secure her release.

According to that report, Baghdad and Washington had reached an understanding on the matter after an Iraqi security official visited the US recently. Tsurkov would reportedly be transferred to a “neutral country” before her full release, the report says.