A US freelance journalist, Shelly Kittleson, has been kidnapped in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. According to Iraqi and US officials, one of the suspects is linked to the Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah. The journalist was abducted on Tuesday evening, reported Al-Monitor, a news outlet for which she has contributed articles.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry stated that security forces chased the reporter's abductors in a pursuit that resulted in one of the kidnappers' cars overturning and the arrest of one suspect. In a statement translated from Arabic, the ministry said: "Security forces immediately launched an operation to apprehend the perpetrators, acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations, tracking the kidnappers' movements."
A US State Department official confirmed that an individual with ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hezbollah was detained by Iraqi authorities. Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson confirmed the abduction of an American journalist without naming Kittleson, posting on X: "The State Department previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them and we will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible."
It is understood that US officials had contacted Kittleson multiple times to warn of threats against her, including as late as Monday night. Her emergency contact and CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas told CBS that Kittleson had been warned by the US government about a specific threat from Iran-backed paramilitaries. Kataib Hezbollah was reportedly plotting to kidnap or kill female journalists.
Kittleson, based in Rome, Italy, has covered conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. According to her bio on X, she has worked for numerous publications. Sources familiar with the situation told CBS that the FBI, National Security Council, State Department, Delta Force, and the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service are in contact regarding her abduction. Baghdad was once notorious for kidnappings, but such incidents have decreased as Iraq's security situation has improved in recent years.
Source: www.bbc.com