A Canadian-Israeli woman says she is "safe and secure" after reports suggested she had been kidnapped by Islamic State militants in Syria.
Gill Rosenberg posted a message to her Facebook page on Monday, a day after media reports suggested she had been captured by ISIS while fighting with Kurdish soldiers in the Syrian-Turkish border town of Kobani.
"Guys, I'm totally safe and secure," Rosenberg wrote. "I don't have Internet access or any communication devices with me for my safety and security."
She went on to say that she had a chance opportunity to log into her account and saw the news reports of her alleged kidnapping.
"Ignore the reports I've been captured," she said. "Yalla, Acharai!"
Rosenberg is believed to have travelled from Israel to Iraq in early November to join a Kurdish militia on the Syrian border. At the time, she told Israel Radio that she had contacted the Kurdish fighters on Facebook.
On Nov. 20, Rosenberg posted a message to Facebook saying that her account and friend requests will be managed "by someone else" until she is able to access the Internet, which she said would be on or around the week of Dec. 8.
"Please do not message as this is not me," she wrote. "Thank you."
Rosenberg grew up in British Columbia and had worked as a pilot in Canada, but has been living in Israel since 2009. She previously served with the Israeli Defence Forces.
The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday that websites "known to be close" to ISIS extremists were reporting that Rosenberg had been kidnapped in Kobani.
According to the report in the Jerusalem Post, the websites affiliated with ISIS extremists claimed the kidnapping occurred after three suicide attacks took place near to where Kurdish fighters were located. However, Kurdish sources told Israel Radio that reports of Rosenberg's capture were likely ISIS propaganda.
Kurdish forces said Rosenberg wasn't in the Kobani area at the time.
The Canadian government said Sunday that it was investigating reports of the alleged kidnapping.
Late Sunday and early Monday, posts by two Facebook users to Rosenberg’s page suggested that she was safe, but offered little proof.
Facebook user Oliver Bruno posted a message to Rosenberg's page in the early morning hours Monday, saying that "Gill is safe and she is not active on Facebook cause (sic) she has no Internet access."
Bruno went on: "ISIS's supporters launched a rumor on social media that she was captured in ‪#‎Kobani which is not true, simply because Gill is at least 300 km. from Kobani."
A few hours later, Bruno posted another message saying that the head of YPG forces in Kobani "categorically refuted these allegations."
Another Facebook user, Emanuela Siyar Barzani, posted a message late Sunday to say that "everything is fine with Gill." Barzani said she obtained the information from a "qualified" source.
Rosenberg’s own post attesting to her safety received dozens of comments celebrating the news.
Rosenberg’s military career was cut short following an arrest for her role in a multi-million-dollar lottery fraud that targeted American seniors, according to the Jerusalem Post.
Rosenberg was one of 11 people arrested and spent at least three years in jail for the scheme.
With a report from CTV News’ Katie Simpson
