|
2026-04-01 Iraq
|
|
American journalist kidnapped in Baghdad, one suspect arrested: Interior ministry
|
[Rudaw] A foreign journalist was kidnapped in central Baghdad on Tuesday evening, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior announced, with one suspect arrested, as regional tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate.
"A foreign journalist was kidnapped by unidentified individuals," the ministry said in a statement, adding that security forces "managed to arrest one of the suspects and seize one of the vehicles used in the crime."
According to media reports, the journalist is believed to be American freelance news hound Shelly Kittleson, a contributor to al-Monitor.
"We are deeply alarmed by the kidnapping of al-Monitor contributor Shelly Kittleson in Iraq on Tuesday," the US-based website said in a statement, calling for her "safe and immediate" release.
CNN
...formerly the Cable News Network , now who know what it might stand for...
national security analyst Alex Plitsas confirmed on X that his friend, Shelly Kittleson, was kidnapped in Baghdad and might have been "held hostage" by Iraq's pro-Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
Khatib Hezbollah.
The kidnapping of the journalist comes amid escalating regional tensions following a US and Israeli military campaign against Iran that began late last month.
The ministry confirmed that "efforts are ongoing to track down the remaining individuals involved, rescue the victim, and take formal legal measures against all participants in this criminal act, in accordance with the law."
The Ministry of Interior also warned that it would "not permit any attempt to destabilize security or target foreign guests."
The ongoing regional conflict has also spilled into Iraq. An air base near Baghdad International Airport was hit by a rocket attack on Monday, destroying a transport aircraft but causing no casualties, according to Iraq’s defense ministry.
The day before, Iraqi forces "thwarted an attempted Katyusha rocket launch" in Kirkuk,
... a thick stew of Arabs, Turkmen, Kurds, and probably Antarcticans, all of them mutually hostile most of the time...
seizing "a platform that included two launch bases and four rockets ready for immediate firing," the defense ministry added.
Iran’s response has involved Iraqi gangs aligned with the Tehran-led ’Axis of Resistance®,’ with several factions claiming responsibility for attacks on alleged US targets in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Footage appears to show freelancer Shelly Kittleson being shoved into car by unknown assailants; US says it ‘fulfilled its duty’ by warning her of threats against her ahead of time
An American journalist was kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad and Iraqi security forces are pursuing her captors, Iraqi officials said.
The journalist was identified as freelancer Shelly Kittleson by one of the outlets she worked for. Iraqi police sources also told Reuters that the kidnapped journalist was Kittelson.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi interior ministry said in a statement that a foreign journalist had been kidnapped, without giving more details about the person’s identity.
Two Iraqi security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case, said the kidnapped journalist was a woman with US citizenship.
They said that two cars were involved in the kidnapping, one of which crashed and was apprehended while being pursued by authorities near the town of Al-Haswa in Babil province southwest of Baghdad, and the journalist was transferred to a second car that fled the scene. Footage shared by news networks purported to show the abduction of Kittelson. In the video, a person is seen being forcibly pushed into a car by two other individuals.
The Iraqi interior ministry said that security forces had launched an operation to track down the kidnappers, “acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations,” after intercepting a vehicle belonging to the kidnappers that overturned as they tried to flee.
One suspect was arrested, and one of the vehicles used in the kidnapping was seized, but others remain on the loose, the statement said.
The two security sources said the journalist was kidnapped from central Baghdad, on Saadoun Street. They added that an alert was circulated to all checkpoints, leading to a pursuit of the kidnappers as they headed southwest of Baghdad toward Babil province.
Al-Monitor, a regional news site covering the Middle East, identified the journalist kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad as Kittleson, a freelancer who contributed to the publication.
Later on Tuesday, US Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson confirmed that Washington was aware of Kittleson’s reported kidnapping.
“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,” Johnson said.
A State Department official separately told reporters that the US had reached out to Kittleson about the threats against her as recently as Monday evening.
“An individual with ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataeb Hezbollah, believed to be involved in the kidnapping, has been taken into custody by Iraqi authorities,” Johnson said.
“Iraq remains at a Level 4 Travel Advisory, and Americans are advised not to travel to Iraq for any reason and to leave Iraq now,” he added.
Kittleson has been a longtime freelancer in the region, reporting extensively from Syria and Iraq.
It was not immediately clear if the kidnapping was related to the ongoing regional war, but Iran-backed militias in Iraq have launched regular attacks on US facilities in the country since the beginning of the US-Israeli war with Iran. Since the start of the war, the US embassy has warned of kidnapping risks and urged citizens in the country to leave.
Kataib Hezbollah also kidnapped Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton graduate student with Israeli and Russian citizenship, in Baghdad in 2023. She was freed and handed over to US authorities in September 2025. The group never officially claimed responsibility for kidnapping her.
# id) ?>
|
Posted by trailing wife 2026-04-01 2026-04-01 01:45||
E-Mail||
Front Page|| [1824 views ]
Top
File under: Govt of Iran Proxies
|
|
03:43 trailing wife
00:29 Clyde Thaviling6482
00:14 Besoeker
00:13 Skidmark
Merry-Go-Blog
|
