The Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced that unknown persons kidnapped a foreign journalist on Tuesday evening. Police sources later said she was an American reporter identified by several local media as Shelly Kittleson. TASR writes about it according to the reports of AFP, AP, Reuters and ANSA agencies.
- Unknown criminals kidnapped a foreign journalist in Iraq on Tuesday evening.
- Iraqi security forces launched an immediate operation and detained one suspect.
“Based on accurate intelligence, security forces immediately launched an operation aimed at apprehending the perpetrators,” the ministry said. However, the Ministry of the Interior did not release details about the abducted person, his nationality or the location of the abduction. However, he said that the police managed to detain one suspect on the spot and that efforts to free the journalist are continuing.
Kidnapping in Baghdad
Two Iraqi security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the abducted journalist was a woman with American citizenship and that two cars were involved in the abduction, which took place in the Iraqi capital Baghdad. One of the vehicles crashed during the escape and was impounded, while the car with the journalist fled the scene.
Police sources further said that the journalist was forcibly dragged into a car by four men in civilian clothes and that the search is focused on the eastern part of the capital, where the kidnappers were heading.
International reactions
The US State Department has not yet responded to Reuters’ request for comment.
ANSA reported that Kittleson is an award-winning freelance journalist who works with various international media outlets, including Italian ones. The agency says its article, titled “The Price of Kurdish Neutrality: Attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan,” was published in the Italian daily Il Foglio on Tuesday.
The news portal The New Region, in turn, wrote that Kittleson was in Iraq to report on the consequences of the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran. The journalist also reported on pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. It is not yet clear whether the kidnapping is related to the war in the Middle East. However, Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have regularly attacked American facilities in the country since the start of the war.
Baghdad has been known for kidnappings or attempted kidnappings in the past, but their number has decreased as the country’s security situation has improved in recent years. Doctoral student Elizabeth Tsurkova (Jelizaveta Curkovová), who had both Russian and Israeli citizenship, was kidnapped in the Iraqi capital in 2023. She was held captive for two years until she was released last year.
