An American journalist was kidnapped in Baghdad Iraq on Tuesday, the country’s interior ministry said, and authorities were still pursuing the abductors and searching
A statement from the Ministry of the Interior provided few details on the incident, and identified only a “foreign journalist.” But Fox News and CBS News identified the reporter as Shelly Kittleson, a freelancer.
Alex Plitsas, a CNN national security analyst, posted on X that he was her point of contact.
He wrote, “I can confirm that my friend Shelly Kittleson was abducted and may have taken hostage in Baghdad by Khatib Hezbollah. Whereabouts and condition unknown. I am her designated U.S. point of contact. If you have information please provide to law enforcement and send me a DM.”
Kittleson contributed to Al-Monitor, Foreign Policy, BBC World Service and Politico, among other publications.
In a statement, Al-Monitor said, “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. We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work.”
The Ministry of the Interior said that the journalist “encountered an incident of kidnapping by unknown people, and immediately the specialized security forces dispatched their duties to pursue the criminals, according to accurate intelligence information and an intensive field effort to track the path of the kidnappers.”
“Pursuit and manhunt led to the confining of a kidnappers wheel, leading to it toppling while they tried to escape, where security forces were able to arrest one of the suspects and seize one of the wheels used in the crime.”
