US journalist Shelly Kittleson kidnapped in Baghdad

Shelly Kittleson was abducted in the Iraqi capital on Tuesday. Photo / Instagram, @shellyrkittleson

An American journalist has been kidnapped in Iraq by a suspected Iran-backed militia.

Shelly Kittleson, who has worked for the BBC, Politico and numerous other international publications, was abducted from central Baghdad. Her current whereabouts are unknown.

A spokesman for Iraq’s interior ministry said one suspect had ‌been arrested and that efforts were ongoing to ‌free the journalist.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. However, a US state department official confirmed the person in custody has ties to the prominent Iraqi-based militia group Kataib Hezbollah.

Footage, broadcast on local television stations, appeared to show the moment armed men bundled Kittleson into a car in broad daylight on a busy road.

It was not immediately clear whether the kidnapping was in response to the ongoing war in the Middle East, but Iranian proxies in Iraq have launched regular attacks on US facilities since the conflict began.

Shelly Kittleson was abducted in the Iraqi capital on Tuesday. Photo / Instagram, @ shellyrkittleson

The US instructed all of its citizens to leave Iraq owing to the “significant threat posed by Iran-aligned terrorist militia groups”. It warned Americans there would be a high risk of kidnappings.

Kataib Hezbollah, a Shia paramilitary group backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has taken foreign citizens hostage in the past.

In 2023, the militia kidnapped Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Russian-Israeli academic and Princeton graduate, from a Baghdad cafe. She was held hostage for 903 days before being freed under a deal brokered by Washington.

The group never officially claimed responsibility for kidnapping her.

Shelly Kittleson is understood to have been bundled into a car on a busy Baghdad road. Photo / Instagram, @shellyrkittleson

Trump administration ‘closely tracking’ reports

The US state department said it was aware of Kittleson’s kidnapping and is working with Iraqi authorities to secure her release.

“The Trump administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans. We are closely tracking these reports,” it added.

State department officials said they had previously warned Kittleson of the threats against her.

Kittleson has reported extensively across the Middle East, particularly Iraq and war zones in Afghanistan and Syria.

She was kidnapped near the Baghdad Hotel, a known location for foreign journalists due to its strong security.

Iraqi authorities said they had followed a vehicle belonging to the kidnappers who were heading south-west of Baghdad.

Iraqi police sources told Reuters that the vehicle – with the journalist inside – was involved in a crash near the town of Al-Haswa in Babil province.

Kittleson was transferred to a second car that fled the scene, the sources said.

Footage shared on social media showed the mangled wreckage of a car with swarms of people standing around it.

In a statement, Al-Monitor, a regional outlet Ms Kittleson freelanced for, said: “We are deeply alarmed by the kidnapping of Al-Monitor contributor Shelly Kittleson in Iraq on Tuesday. We call for her safe and immediate release.

“We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work.”

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