Police say US journalist was kidnapped in Baghdad
The Iraqi interior ministry confirmed that a female journalist had been kidnapped, though it stopped short of revealing her nationality.
Baghdad authorities are combing the city after a US journalist was abducted, according to two police officials, in a case that has renewed scrutiny over the dangers facing foreigners in Iraq.
The Iraqi interior ministry confirmed that a female journalist had been kidnapped, though it stopped short of revealing her nationality.
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Officials said one suspect had been taken into custody and that operations were continuing to secure the journalist’s release.
Police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, later identified the journalist as Shelly Kittleson.
A State Department official said the US was aware of reports that an American journalist had been kidnapped in Baghdad and said Washington had already warned her of potential danger.
“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,” Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson said on X.
He did not identify Ms Kittleson by name.
Mr Johnson also repeated longstanding US guidance that Americans should not travel to Iraq under any circumstances.
The two police officials said Ms Kittleson was grabbed by four men wearing civilian clothes and forced into a vehicle.
They said the search has centered on eastern Baghdad, the part of the capital toward which the kidnappers’ vehicle was seen heading.
The abduction recalls another high-profile case in Iraq: an Israeli-Russian graduate student from Princeton University was seized by an Iran-aligned Shi’ite militia during a research visit in March 2023 and was freed in 2025.