Iraq on Friday said it opened an investigation into the alleged kidnapping of Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov in Baghdad, following denials by paramilitary group Kataeb Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Ms Tsurkov travelled to Iraq for research for her doctoral degree at Princeton University in the US and had not been seen since March.
Mr Netanyahu's government said she was being held by Kataeb Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shiite militia group that operates in Iraq.
Iraqi government spokesman Bassem Al Awadi said an official investigation was under way.
“Given the level of the case, its intricacies, there will be no official statement regarding this matter until the Iraqi government completes its official investigation and reaches conclusions,” he told Al Ahd station, which is close to the influential Popular Mobilisation Forces.
The Israeli government said the situation was being handled by its relevant bodies.
“Elizabeth Tsurkov is still alive and we see Iraq as responsible for her fate and well-being,” it said.
Late on Thursday, Kataeb Hezbollah, one of several state-sanctioned Iraqi paramilitary groups, said the researcher's disappearance was a “dangerous matter that must be taken seriously”.
“Security officials and the army must stand together and work hard at uncovering the perpetrators and holding them to account,” the paramilitary group said.
“We will, as Kataeb Hezbollah, spare no efforts to find the Israeli hostage in Iraq. We will find out who is behind these acts and how they are operating inside the country and who is aiding them.
“The relevant security services must uncover the networks associated with this and bring them to justice.”
Mr Netanyahu's office said Ms Tsurkov entered Iraq on her Russian passport.
Kataeb Hezbollah is accused of kidnapping and killing hundreds of Iraqis, often with no announced justification for its actions.
