Iraqi armed group releases U.S. journalist

After a week in captivity in Baghdad, US journalist Shelly Kittleson has been freed by Iraq’s powerful armed faction Kataeb Hezbollah, according to statements from the Iranian-backed group and the United States.

News of her release came just hours before the United States and Iran reached a ceasefire agreement, ending more than a month of war.

“In recognition of the national stances of the outgoing prime minister, we have decided to release the American defendant Shelly Kittleson, on the condition that she leave the country immediately,” Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official in the Iran-backed group, said in a brief statement.

He said the move was an exceptional one and warned it would “not be repeated again in the coming days, as we are in a state of war launched by the Zionist-American enemy against Islam, and in such cases many considerations are discarded”.

“We are relieved that this American is now free and is working to support her safe departure from Iraq,” Mr Rubio said in a statement.

Earlier, a senior Iraqi security official said authorities had detained a member of a pro-Iran group believed to be linked to the abduction.

Mr Rubio said Ms Kittleson had been kidnapped by Kataeb Hezbollah, which the United States has blacklisted.

Based in Rome, Ms Kittleson has reported widely from the Middle East and has written for publications including Al-Monitor.

President Donald Trump’s administration had previously pushed back against criticism over her kidnapping, with US officials saying she had been warned about threats.

Iraq was once infamous for kidnappings and attempted abductions, though such incidents have declined in recent years as the country’s security situation improved.

In a separate case, Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov was abducted in Baghdad in 2023 and held for two years before being released last year.