Shelly Kittleson has been kidnapped in Baghdad (Shelly Kittleson)
An American journalist kidnapped in Baghdad had been warned of threats against her in the days leading up to her disappearance, U.S. and Iraqi officials say.
Shelly Renee Kittleson is a freelance journalist who has worked for years in Iraq and Syria.
She was snatched from a street in the Iraqi capital Tuesday, sparking an urgent hunt.
Kittleson had also tried to cross from Syria into Iraq three weeks before the incident and was turned back, an Iraqi official said.
Hussein Alawi, an adviser to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, said Kittleson had sought to enter via the al-Qaim crossing from Syria on March 9 but was turned back because she did not have a press work permit, and because of security concerns due to “the escalation of the war and aerial projectiles over Iraqi airspace as a result of the war on Iran”.
Kittleson later entered the country after obtaining a single-entry visa to Iraq, which was valid for 60 days.
Kittleson has worked in Iraq and Syria for years (Shelly Kittleson)
The visas are issued to allow foreign citizens stranded in neighboring countries to “transit through Iraq to reach their home countries via available transport routes,” Alawi said.
Kittleson entered Baghdad a few days before she was kidnapped and was staying in a hotel in the capital, he said.
“The incident is being followed closely by Iraqi security and intelligence agencies under the supervision of” al-Sudani, Alawi said.
He noted that one suspect believed to be involved in the kidnapping plot has been arrested and is being interrogated.
Iraqi security forces gave chase to her captors and arrested one suspect after the car he was driving crashed, but other kidnappers were able to escape with the journalist in a second car.
The U.S. flag flutters outside the U.S. Embassy, seen across the Tigris River in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone (AFP via Getty Images)
An Iraqi intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment, said Iraqi authorities believe that Kittleson is being held in Baghdad and are trying to locate her and secure her release. He said authorities “have information about the abducting party” but declined to give more details.
U.S. officials have alleged that Kittleson was taken by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-linked Iraqi militia that has been implicated in previous kidnappings of foreigners.
The group has not claimed the kidnapping and the Iraqi government has not publicly said anything about the kidnappers’ affiliation.
The Iraqi intelligence official said that prior to Kittleson’s abduction, Iraqis had contacted U.S. officials to notify them that there was a specific kidnapping threat against her by Iran-affiliated militias.
It is believed Kittleson is being held in Baghdad (AFP via Getty Images)
Dylan Johnson, U.S. assistant secretary of state for public affairs, said on X Tuesday that the “State Department previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them.”
A U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said, “She was contacted multiple times with warnings of the threats against her,” including as late as the night before the kidnapping.
Surveillance footage shows what seems to be the moment the journalist was kidnapped in Baghdad. It shows two men approaching a person standing on a street corner and ushering the person into the back of a car. There appears to be a brief struggle to shut the car door before the men get into the vehicle and it drives away.
Iran-backed militias in Iraq have launched regular attacks on U.S. facilities in the country since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.