A seasoned American freelance conflict reporter has been abducted in central Baghdad, launching a joint search operation by Iraqi and U.S. security authorities that has already led to the arrest of one suspect linked to an Iran-aligned militia, according to senior officials from both nations.
Veteran journalist Shelly Kittleson, who has reported from conflict zones across Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria for multiple international outlets and is based in Rome, Italy, was taken captive on the evening of Tuesday, confirmed Al-Monitor, a U.S.-based publication that has featured Kittleson’s work. Local reporting indicates the abduction took place near a hotel in the heart of the Iraqi capital, Al-Monitor added.
Shortly after the kidnapping, Iraq’s Ministry of Interior announced that security forces launched an urgent manhunt for the abductors based on detailed intelligence. During the pursuit, one of the kidnappers’ vehicles overturned after the driver attempted to evade capture, and one suspect was taken into custody. Iraqi authorities did not immediately name the suspect in their public statement, referring only to the group as “unknown individuals”, but a senior U.S. State Department official confirmed the detained individual has ties to Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia group designated as a terrorist organization by many Western governments.
U.S. Department of State spokesperson Dylan Johnson, Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs, confirmed the abduction of an American journalist, though he did not publicly name Kittleson in his post to social platform X. Johnson noted that the State Department had previously fulfilled its obligation to warn the journalist of active threats against her, and that U.S. officials are continuing to coordinate closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to secure her swift and safe release. Multiple U.S. sources confirmed that officials reached out to Kittleson multiple times to alert her to the dangers she faced, with the most recent warning coming as late as Monday night, just one day before her abduction.
Alex Plitsas, a CNN national security analyst who serves as Kittleson’s emergency contact, told CBS News — the U.S. partner of the BBC — that U.S. authorities specifically warned Kittleson that Kataib Hezbollah was plotting to kidnap or kill female journalists, and that her name was included on a target list held by the militia. Plitsas added that Kittleson dismissed the warning, believing the threat information to be unsubstantiated. A second anonymous source familiar with the situation confirmed this account to CBS.
In a statement provided to the BBC, a State Department representative said: “Due to privacy and other considerations, we have nothing further to share at this time.” Al-Monitor released an official statement saying it is “deeply alarmed” by Kittleson’s kidnapping, and issued an urgent call for her immediate and unharmed release.
An anonymous senior Iraqi official confirmed to CBS that Iraqi security operations are being coordinated “at the highest level” of government to secure Kittleson’s freedom. The Iraqi Interior Ministry reiterated in its statement that ongoing operations are focused on tracking down the remaining at-large perpetrators, rescuing Kittleson, and bringing all involved in the “criminal act” to justice under Iraqi law.
Multiple sources familiar with the ongoing response told CBS that senior security and intelligence agencies from both nations, including the FBI, the U.S. National Security Council, U.S. Army Delta Force, and the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service, are in constant communication to coordinate the search and rescue effort.
Baghdad earned a reputation as one of the world’s most dangerous cities for abductions during the height of sectarian conflict following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, but kidnapping rates have dropped sharply in recent years as overall security across Iraq has stabilized.