Washington — American journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in Baghdad on Tuesday, according to two sources familiar with the matter as well as an Iraqi official.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry announced that a foreign journalist was kidnapped by “unknown individuals” but did not identify who was taken. The ministry said that security forces had managed to arrest one suspect and seize a vehicle used in the abduction.
Alex Plitsas, Kittleson’s designated point of contact in the U.S. and a CNN national security analyst, confirmed to CBS News that Kittleson had been kidnapped. Plitsas said that the U.S. government had warned Kittleson about a specific threat against her by the Iranian-backed paramilitary group Kata’ib Hezbollah, which was allegedly looking to kidnap or kill female journalists.
Plitsas said Kittleson was advised that her name was on a list in Kata’ib Hezbollah’s possession. A second source confirmed that she had been told of a risk but that she thought it was likely false information.
Kittleson was contacted multiple times with warnings of threats against her, including as recently as Monday night, a U.S. official said.
Shelly Kittleson/WhatsApp
Dylan Johnson, an assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, confirmed in a post on X that the suspect who was taken into custody by Iraqi authorities had ties to Kata’ib Hezbollah.
Without naming Kittleson, Johnson also said that the State Department had “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.”
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 in contact about the situation, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
Journalist Kiran Nazish, the founder and director of the Coalition for Women in Journalism, told CBS News she was in contact with Kittleson on Thursday, before she left for Baghdad. According to Nazish, Kittleson was traveling to Iraq to stay with a family there who had reassured Kittleson that she shouldn’t worry and that they “would keep her safe.”
Kittleson told Nazish via text message that she had been advised not to travel, but “she was doing what she had always done,” Nazish told CBS News. She said Kittleson had traveled to Iraq and Syria several times before and had “experience reporting on the ground in difficult circumstances.”
Kittleson, an Italian American, lives in Rome and has also spent time in Istanbul.
AI-Monitor, a Middle East-focused news outlet for which Kittleson works as a freelance reporter, released a statement calling for her immediate release.
“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,” the statement said. “We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work.”
The FBI declined to comment, and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On March 29, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq warned that Iran and its aligned terrorist militias may intend to target American universities in Baghdad and other cities, as well as universities associated with the U.S. Americans were told to leave Iraq for their own safety.
