American journalist kidnapped in Iraq – NBC News

An American journalist was kidnapped in Iraq on Tuesday by suspected Iranian-backed militants, according to the State Department and the country’s Interior Ministry. The journalist was identified in the hours after her kidnapping came to light as freelancer Shelly Kittleson, with Al-Monitor, one of the publications she works for, calling for her “safe and immediate release.” Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global affairs, said in a post on X that the State Department was “aware of the reported kidnapping of an American journalist in Baghdad, Iraq.” He said the State Department had “previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them” and would “continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible.” Shelly Kittleson. via Facebook He said that an individual believed to have been involved in the kidnapping had been captured and was in Iraqi custody. This person had ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hezbollah, Johnson said. He added that Iraq remained at a Level 4 Travel Advisory, with Americans advised “not to travel to Iraq for any reason and to leave Iraq now.” Iraq’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that security forces pursued the
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