Iraq Network Gave Kidnapped Journalist a Sense of Safety

Shelly Kittleson built deep relationships across Iraq over years of reporting—ties she believed would help keep her safe. The reporter's disappearance has shaken those who worked alongside her.

Concern is mounting over the safety of US journalist Shelly Kittleson, whose whereabouts remain unknown more than five days after she was abducted from a busy street in Baghdad. The group responsible, Kata’ib Hezbollah, has demanded the release of several members involved in attacks on the US embassy, a source close to the Iraqi Interior Ministry in Baghdad told Middle East Uncovered.

“Shelly has become a card between America and Iran,” the source said, adding that Kata’ib Hezbollah is seeking to use the hostage situation as leverage against the United States to influence the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Security officials told the New York Times that representatives of the powerful Iraqi militia group, which is allied with Iran, contacted government figures on Wednesday, offering to free Kittleson if its demands are met.

The group was also behind the kidnapping of an Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov, a doctoral student at Princeton University, was abducted in March 2023 and held for nearly three years.

Kittleson received kidnapping warnings in the days leading up to her abduction, but believed that her wide network across Iraqi society would afford protection. For the 49-year-old freelance journalist, security came from the relationships she formed, sometimes staying with families rather than in hotels and traveling to remote corners of Iraq to document stories on the ground.

“Shelly is a courageous field journalist who does not settle for reporting news from closed rooms,” said Osama Al Maqdoni, an Iraqi photojournalist who worked with Kittleson in Sinjar, Mosul, Erbil, and Baghdad. Over the years, she built up a “rare ability to access all sides,” visiting areas of western Nineveh and western Anbar to interview the leaders of Iranian-backed armed factions, he added.

“She does not chase ‘scoops’ as much as she pursues the truth—even when it is complex or uncomfortable,” Al Maqdoni said.

Iraq has long been a high-risk environment for journalists but the escalating conflict in the Middle East following the launch of US-Israeli strikes on Iran last month has deepened an ongoing security crisis as the country becomes a proxy battleground for outside powers.

Kittleson’s location remains unknown, but reports indicate that Kata’ib Hezbollah has secured the transfer of a hostage to Jurf al-Sakhr, a major stronghold of armed factions south of the capital, the Baghdad source said. The area, which was recaptured from ISIS in 2014, is difficult to access, posing complications for a potential rescue operation.

“The group aims to impose a number of demands, including pushing the United States to reduce the frequency of airstrikes targeting its positions and those of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) inside Iraq, as well as pressing for the release of several of its members detained by security forces,” the source added.

The PMF, also known as al-Hashd al-Shaabi, is an Iraqi paramilitary force of mainly Iran-backed Shia militias that was formed to combat the rise of ISIS in 2014. Kata’ib Hezbollah is among the most powerful of these factions. Designated as a terrorist group by the US, the group operates simultaneously as part of the state-sanctioned PMF and independently to pursue Iranian-aligned agendas beyond the government’s control.

These blurred boundaries allow Iran-backed militias to act with apparent impunity, attacking US military and diplomatic sites in Iraq and targeting human rights campaigners, protesters, journalists, academics, and political leaders.

Kittleson’s abduction is “a tragic reminder of the extremely dangerous working conditions faced by reporters, and especially freelance reporters, in areas where armed groups are active,” said Martin Roux, head of the Crisis Desk at Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Footage of the kidnapping at a busy intersection in central Baghdad showed Kittleson being pushed into a car by several men and driven away. The Iraqi Ministry of Interior said in a statement that security forces had launched “an operation to apprehend the perpetrators” and confirmed that one of the suspects had been arrested and a vehicle used in the kidnapping had been seized.

The incident, in broad daylight, reflects the “alarming levels of impunity with which militants and aggressors threaten and harm journalists,” said Kiran Nazish, founding director of the Coalition for Women in Journalism (CFWIJ) and Women Press Freedom.

Hundreds of mostly local reporters have been kidnapped, killed, and arrested in Iraq since 2003, when the chaotic aftermath of the US-led invasion of Iraq created a power vacuum that was filled by armed militias, sectarian groups, and terrorist organizations. According to UNESCO, 198 media professionals were murdered in Iraq between 2006 and 2018.

More recently, Iraq’s position in the World Press Freedom Index has risen from 172 out of 180 countries in 2023 to 155 in 2025. However, the security situation remains volatile and complex, with the current regional conflict exacerbating the risks of reporting in Baghdad.

Sara Qudah, director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) warned that “Iraqi authorities must act swiftly to secure (Kittleson’s) safe release and hold those responsible to account, while ensuring the dark era of journalist kidnappings and assassinations does not return to Iraq.”

The last kidnapping of a journalist in Iraq took place in 2020 when Tawfik Al-Tamimi, editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Al-Sabah, was abducted and forced into a car on his way to work. This followed several abductions of journalists after the Tishreen protests in October 2019.

“Such incidents risk creating a climate of fear that undermines the press and journalists’ ability to work safely,” Qudah said.

An experienced journalist who has reported from Afghanistan, Syria, and Iraq, Kittleson has spoken about the risks facing freelancers operating on shoestring budgets, telling the Imperial War Museum in an interview that it was difficult to secure protective gear while covering the war in Syria.

Her articles have appeared in publications including Politico, New Lines Magazine, and Al-Monitor, which on Tuesday called for her release in a statement, saying “We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work.”

Describing her as “persistent and resilient,” Al Maqdoni recounted how Kittleson almost lost her life on numerous occasions while reporting on the battle against ISIS in the narrow alleyways of Mosul’s Old City. “She does not write from behind barricades, but from within them,” he said.

Prior to her disappearance, Kittleson was covering civilian reconstruction in the Karrada district of Baghdad. Her commitment to on-the-ground reporting saw her build relationships with actors from across the political spectrum in Iraq, including security leaders, tribal sheikhs, government officials, and leaders of Iranian-backed armed factions.

“This made her a trusted figure, and increased her sense of safety—believing she would not be subject to kidnapping or threats,” Al Maqdoni said.

Hours before her abduction, sitting down with another journalist friend at one of the few places she could find vegetarian food in Baghdad, Kittleson dismissed warnings of a possible threat against her. “She said she loved Iraq and didn’t expect anyone to hurt her,” the journalist, who asked not to be named, said.

Nevertheless, she took steps to minimize the risks of her work, completing a security training course for freelance reporters in Baghdad last month and telling our Middle East Uncovered editor she needed to find secure channels to share information as her American passport had placed “a target on my [her] back.”

Posting on X, Alex Plitsas, a CNN national security analyst and Kittleson’s designated US point of contact, confronted “callous” posts regarding her response to these warnings. “She’s a well-known front-line reporter in conflict zones providing valuable and insightful coverage.”

“People like Shelly provide sourced and vetted reporting where transparency and truth are scarce. She has been at the forefront of world events for decades and is among the most selfless people I’ve ever met.”

Colleagues have criticized the accusatory tone of some of the comments and coverage surrounding Kittleson’s abduction.

Writing on Substack about her friend’s disappearance, journalist Lauren Wolfe called out the media portrayal of Kittleson “as some kind of renegade journalist because she’s a freelancer… as if she brought this on herself because of it.

“Most journalists working abroad today are freelance—there are no staff jobs to be had in the industry,” Wolfe wrote.

In a statement on Tuesday, Dylan Johnson, U.S. assistant secretary of state for public affairs, said, “The State Department fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them, and we will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible.”

Calling for the State Department to do everything in its power to secure her release, Seth Stern, Chief of Advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, said: “We hope the government is taking this matter extremely seriously and that its statements blaming Kittleson for allegedly not heeding warnings are not an attempt to evade responsibility.”

As pressure mounts for her release, colleagues warn that Kittleson’s case underscores a culture of impunity that allows armed groups to target journalists in Iraq. Petitions calling for her release demand that, this time, those responsible be held to account. More than three days after her abduction, fears for her safety are growing. “Any failure to act swiftly and responsibly will result in harming our colleague,” the CFWIJ said in a statement.

“These concerning circumstances…reflect the dangers journalists are facing today to tell the story of humanity.”

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