Search Underway For American Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq
Middle East Uncovered contributor Shelly Kittleson, who has reported extensively from Iraq and the region, was kidnapped in broad daylight in Baghdad. We call for her immediate, unconditional release.
All individuals involved in the kidnapping of American journalist Shelly Kittleson have been identified, and a search is now underway, a senior Iraqi Interior Ministry official said, noting that the perpetrators belong to Kata’ib Hezbollah, including some who work for the group’s affiliated Al-Etejah media outlets.
Kittleson, a freelance journalist based in Rome who reports on Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, was kidnapped outside a hotel in central Baghdad’s Saadoun Street on Tuesday evening. Video footage of her being abducted and driven away in broad daylight circulated on social media shortly after the incident.
A statement from the Iraqi Ministry of Interior said 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 vehicle overturned near a checkpoint in the town of Musayyib, about 60 kilometers south of Baghdad. Kittleson’s press bags were found in the vehicle as well as identification documents belonging to some of the kidnappers, the interior ministry source said.
Preliminary findings suggest that Kittleson had been transferred to another car before the crash and taken to Jurf al-Sakhar, a vast rural region known for its orchards and lakes. The area, which has been under the control of Kata’ib Hezbollah since 2014, was largely depopulated during the ISIS period.
In recent weeks, the area has been subjected to near-daily airstrikes by U.S. forces targeting sites linked to Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iraqi Shia militia group. Iraq quickly became a proxy battlefield after the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran a month ago, in what has since widened into a regional war that has killed more than 2,000 people, primarily in Lebanon and Iran.
Kata’ib Hezbollah is one of the primary groups accused of carrying out attacks against U.S. interests, including the attack on the U.S. Embassy and the Diplomatic Support Center at Baghdad International Airport. The group was behind the kidnapping of Elizabeth Tsurkov in Baghdad in 2023.
Following intense diplomatic pressure, Tsurkov—a Princeton graduate student with Israeli and Russian citizenship—was released in September 2025 after nearly three years in captivity, during which she was subjected to torture and sexual assault.
Al Monitor released a statement saying it was “deeply alarmed” by the kidnapping of Kittleson, who was a contributor to the publication. “We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work,” the publication said.
Kittleson is a longstanding freelancer in the Middle East and has reported extensively from Iraq. She arrived in the country 10 days ago from Syria, where she contributed to Middle East Uncovered. She had plans to pitch further stories to our editor from Baghdad, telling her that she needed to find secure channels to share information as her American passport had placed “a target on my [her] back.”
She was aware of security risks, but was focused on covering the ongoing regional escalation and its impact on Iraq.
“She said she loved Iraq and didn’t expect anyone to hurt her,” a journalist friend based in Baghdad, who asked not to be named, said.
Dylan Johnson, U.S. assistant secretary of state for public affairs, said on X that “The State Department previously 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.”
US officials are understood to have contacted Kittleson to warn of threats against her in the days leading up to the abduction.
“An individual with ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kata’ib Hezbollah, believed to be involved in the kidnapping, has been taken into custody by Iraqi authorities,” Johnson added.
A statement from the U.S State Department said: “The Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans.”
Shelly’s reporting has brought clarity and depth to stories that are often overlooked, and her safety is of urgent concern to all of us at Middle East Uncovered. We call for her immediate and unconditional release. No journalist should be targeted for doing their job.
“As soon as I find a printer and scanner in a place that is not too dodgy. My US passport is already a bit of a target on my back, so ‘tis best not to take chances. By tomorrow, inshallah.”
- Shelly Kittleson, March 26th in an email to Editor-in-Chief Reid Newton.
We have not heard from her since, and will continue to speak with our sources in the region and do everything we can to help facilitate her release.
Read Shelly’s latest for Middle East Uncovered below. Her work is more important now than ever.
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