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An American journalist has been abducted in Baghdad, as confirmed by Iraqi authorities. The incident has raised alarm and prompted swift action from local security officials.
Shelly Kittleson, a freelance journalist with experience covering the Middle East and Afghanistan, was seized by a group of unidentified armed men near her hotel in Iraq’s capital on Tuesday. The details of the abduction remain unclear, but it has sparked a significant response from law enforcement.
The Iraqi Interior Ministry released a statement confirming the kidnapping of a “foreign journalist” by unknown assailants. In response, security forces are actively working to track down those responsible for the crime.
In their efforts, authorities managed to intercept a vehicle linked to the kidnappers. During the chase, the vehicle overturned, leading to the arrest of one suspect, according to the ministry.
The abduction reportedly took place near the Palestine Hotel on Al-Saadoun Street, a central area of Baghdad known for its bustling activity and historical significance.
No group has claimed responsibility yet but there are fears that Iran could be behind the kidnapping.
Kittleson was not in the vehicle intercepted by Iraqi security forces and her whereabouts are said to be currently unknown.
Kittleson, who has written for publications including Al Monitor, Foreign Policy, and The National, has reported across Iraq and the Middle East.
Shelly Kittleson, a freelance reporter based in the Middle East and Afghanistan , was abducted by a group of unidentified men near her hotel in the Iraqi capital on Tuesday
The journalist has been kidnapped by an armed group in Baghdad, Iraqi officials have confirmed
She was in Baghdad to cover the impact of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Iraqi security forces are said to be continuing search operations and questioning the detained suspect as part of efforts to locate the journalist.
Kidnappings of journalists in Iraq are often linked to militia activity – a topic she has reported on.
In September, Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov was released after being abducted by Iraq’s pro-Iran faction Kataib Hezbollah.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said her release was the ‘culmination of extensive efforts exerted by our security services over the course of many months.
‘We reaffirm, once again, that we will not tolerate any compromise in enforcing the law and upholding the authority of the state, nor will we allow anyone to undermine the reputation of Iraq and its people,’ he said.
Tsurkov disappeared in March 2023 while on a research trip in Baghdad. The Israeli government announced months later that she had been kidnapped by the Shiite group Kataeb Hezbollah or Hezbollah Brigades.
She had entered Iraq using her Russian passport, ‘at her own initiative pursuant to work on her doctorate and academic research on behalf of Princeton University,’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time.
By November of that year, the group released a video featuring Tsurkov, in which the Israeli-Russian academic claimed she was a Mossad and CIA agent.
But Tsurkov had been an expert on regional affairs in the Middle East – and specifically in war-torn Syria.
Kittleson had been staying in Baghdad to cover the impact of the US-Israeli war on Iran
Days after her disappearance in March 2023, a local website even reported that an Iranian citizen who was involved in her kidnapping was detained by Iraqi authorities.
It said the woman was kidnapped from Baghdad’s central neighborhood of Karradah and that Iran’s embassy in the Iraqi capital was pressing for the man’s release and to have him deported to Iran.
Some Iraqi activists posted a copy of a passport of an Iranian man at the time, claiming that he was involved in the kidnapping.
Kataib Hezbollah, a powerful Shiite group based in Iraq, is a separate group from the Hezbollah movement, an Iran-backed group in Lebanon.
But both groups are closely linked to Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and are listed by the US government as terrorist organizations.