{"id":1285,"date":"2026-04-01T01:55:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T01:55:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/1285\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T01:55:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T01:55:25","slug":"us-journalist-kidnapped-in-baghdad-by-suspected-iranian-backed-armed-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/1285\/","title":{"rendered":"US journalist kidnapped in Baghdad by suspected Iranian-backed armed group"},"content":{"rendered":"

An American journalist was kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad<\/a> by a suspected Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, the United States said, as regional security deteriorates following the US-Israeli attack on Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The State Department said it had warned the journalist of security risks and was working to ensure the American’s release “as soon as possible”.<\/p>\n

“An individual with ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hezballah believed to be involved in the kidnapping<\/a> has been taken into custody by Iraqi authorities,” Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Iraq<\/a> said that authorities intercepted a vehicle that overturned as they tried to flee.<\/p>\n

“Security forces were able to arrest one of the suspects and seize one of the vehicles used in the crime,” the Iraqi interior ministry said in a statement.<\/p>\n

“The Ministry affirms that efforts are ongoing to track down the remaining individuals involved, secure the release of the kidnapped journalist,” it added.<\/p>\n

An Iraqi security source told AFP the abduction occurred in Baghdad. Iraqi authorities did not identify the perpetrator or the victim.<\/p>\n

The journalist was identified as Shelly Kittleson, a freelancer, by media advocacy groups as well as Al-Monitor, one of the news outlets for which she worked.<\/p>\n

Al-Monitor in a statement said it was “deeply alarmed” by Kittleson’s kidnapping and called for her “safe and immediate release”.<\/p>\n

“We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work,” the news organisation said.<\/p>\n

Kittleson is a “legitimate journalist” with experience in the Middle East<\/a> and is based in Rome, according to the International Women’s Media Foundation.<\/p>\n

Baghdad was previously notorious for kidnappings and attempted abductions, but they decreased as the security situation in the country improved in recent years.<\/p>\n

Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped in Baghdad in 2023. She was held for two years until her release last year.<\/p>\n

The United States has warned Americans of rising risks in Iraq, where Iran has sway over several Shia armed groups, after the United States and Israel<\/a> attacked Iran on February 28.<\/p>\n

Johnson said that the State Department had “fulfilled our duty” to warn the journalist about threats and reiterated a warning for Americans to leave Iraq.<\/p>\n

“The State Department strongly advise all Americans, including members of the press, to adhere to all travel advisories,” he said.<\/p>\n

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An American journalist was kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad by a suspected Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, the United States…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1205,5,432,1206,72,236],"class_list":["post-1285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-france","tag-baghdad","tag-france","tag-iraq","tag-kidnapping","tag-middle-east","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1285"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1285\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}