A US journalist has been kidnapped in Iraq.The kidnapping occurred in Baghdad on Tuesday, according to Iraqi officials, who said efforts were now underway to locate the reporter and the perpetrators.
Middle East crisis: Follow the latestHere is everything we know about the incident so far.Who has been kidnapped?
Iraq’s interior ministry said in a statement a foreign journalist had been kidnapped in the country’s capital but did not provide further details about their identity.The journalist was later named as freelancer Shelly Kittleson by one of the publications she worked for.According to her X profile, Kittleson is an award-winning journalist of more than 15 years, reporting on the Middle East and contributing to outlets such as Politico, Foreign Policy magazine and the BBC World Service.
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Shelly Kittleson. Pic: X
What happened?
Iraqi security officials said two cars had been involved in the kidnapping, which took place on Saadoun Street in central Baghdad, before the perpetrators headed southwest towards Babil province.An alert was subsequently circulated to all checkpoints, leading to a pursuit during which one of the vehicles reportedly crashed near the town of Al-Haswa.The other car, carrying Kittleson, fled the scene.Read more from Jattvibe:French vote to ban teens from social mediaWoods pleads not guilty to driving under influenceFollowing the incident, Iraq’s ministry said one suspect had been arrested and efforts were now underway to locate Kittleson and the kidnappers.It said security forces had launched an operation “acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations”.It is not immediately clear if the kidnapping is related to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.What has been the reaction?In a statement, the US state department said it was aware of the incident and insisted “the Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans”.It added that “due to privacy and other considerations, we have nothing further to share at this time”.
Assistant secretary Dylan Johnson wrote on social media that the state department had previously warned “this individual of threats against them” and said it would “continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible”.Johnson, who blamed the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah for the kidnapping, added: “Iraq remains at a Level 4 Travel Advisory and Americans are advised not to travel to Iraq for any reason and to leave Iraq now.”Al-Monitor, a US news company covering the Middle East that Kittleson contributed to, said it was “deeply alarmed by the kidnapping” and called for her “safe and immediate release”.In a short statement, the publication said: “We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work.”
