BAGHDAD: American freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson, an award-winning reporter with over a decade of experience covering conflict zones in the Middle East and Afghanistan, has reportedly been abducted Tuesday evening in central Baghdad by suspected Iranian-backed militants, according to Iraqi security officials and U.S. sources.
Kittleson, 42, an Italian-American originally from Wisconsin and based in Rome, was seized near the Baghdad Hotel on Al-Sa’doun Street by four men in civilian clothing, who forced her into a vehicle.
A video circulating on Iraqi social media appears to show the moment of abduction. Iraqi Interior Ministry forces launched an immediate operation, arresting one suspect and seizing the vehicle used in the kidnapping. U.S. and Iraqi officials have linked the suspect to Kataib Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group with a history of targeting American citizens and female journalists.
The U.S. State Department confirmed Kittleson had received specific warnings — including the night before her abduction — about credible threats from the group. As of early Wednesday, she remains in custody, and no group has claimed responsibility. Iraqi security forces continue their search for the remaining suspects in what officials describe as an active, high-priority manhunt.
