Washington – American journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in Baghdad on Tuesday, according to two sources familiar with the matter and an Iraqi official.
The Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced that a foreign journalist had been kidnapped by “unknown people” but did not reveal who was taken. The Ministry said that the security forces were able to arrest one suspect and also seized the car that was used during the kidnapping.
Alex Plitsas, Kittleson’s designated US liaison and national security analyst for CNN, confirmed to CBS News that Kittleson had been kidnapped. Plitsas said the US government had warned Kittleson of a specific threat against him by the Iran-backed militant group Kata’ib Hezbollah, which was allegedly looking to kidnap or kill female journalists.
Plitsas said Kittleson was told his name was on a list in Kata’ib Hezbollah. A second source confirmed that he had been told about the accident but thought it might be false information.
Kittleson has been contacted several times with threats, including as recently as Monday night, the U.S. official said.
Shelly Kittleson/WhatsApp
Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for international affairs, confirmed to the X-Post that the suspect arrested by Iraqi authorities had ties to Kata’ib Hezbollah.
Without naming Kittleson, Johnson also said the State Department “has previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against him and we will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as soon as possible.”
An Iraqi official told CBS News that authorities are working “at the highest level” to secure Kittleson’s release.
The FBI, National Security Council, State Department, Delta Force and the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service are communicating about the situation, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Journalist Kiran Nazish, founder and director of the Coalition for Women in Journalism, told CBS News that she had been in contact with Kittleson on Thursday, before she left for Baghdad. According to Nazish, Kittleson was going to Iraq to stay with a family there who assured Kittleson that he didn’t have to worry and that they would “keep him safe.”
Kittleson told Nazish via text that he was told not to go, but “he was doing what he always does,” Nazish told CBS News. He said Kittleson had been to Iraq and Syria several times before and had “experience reporting on the ground in difficult situations.”
Kittleson, an Italian American, lives in Rome and has spent time in Istanbul.
AI-Monitor, the Middle East-focused news agency where Kittleson works as a freelance reporter, issued a statement calling for his immediate release.
“We are deeply shocked by the abduction of Al-Monitor’s Shelly Kittleson in Iraq on Tuesday. We ask that she be freed and released immediately,” the statement said. “We stand by his important report for this region and say that he should return immediately to continue his important work.”
The FBI declined to comment, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On March 29, the US Ambassador to Iraq warned that Iran and its allied militants may be aiming to target American universities in Baghdad and other cities, as well as universities associated with American Americans who were told to leave Iraq for safety.
