Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was abducted by the Kata’ib Hezbollah organization in Baghdad four months ago, herself initiated a meeting with the group that ultimately kidnapped her, Channel 12 News reported on Sunday evening. Until now, it was unknown how the Kata’ib Hezbollah group was aware that a researcher of Israeli origin was in Baghdad. According to Arab sources quoted by the report, Tsurkov contacted an Iraqi Shiite she was acquainted with, Ahmad Alawani, in order to arrange an interview with his relative, Muhammad Alawani, a senior Kata’ib Hezbollah official, as part of her research on Shiite organizations in Iraq. When the two men discovered in their second meeting with Tsurkov that she was of Israeli origin, they decided to kidnap her and transfer her to Iran. According to the sources, at least one attempt was made to transfer her to Iran. However, it is believed that the attempt was unsuccessful and she is still being held in Iraq. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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