U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson freed in Iraq a week after kidnapping
American journalist Shelly Kittleson has been freed in Iraq, a week after she was kidnapped from a sidewalk in Baghdad, according to the AP. Kataib Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Iraqi militia linked to the kidnapping, said it decided to release her.
Kittleson was seized on March 31 in the Iraqi capital, where video showed her standing on a sidewalk near a busy intersection before a sedan stopped and two men forced her into the vehicle within seconds.
The AP, citing two Iraqi officials with direct knowledge of the situation, reported that Kittleson was released after Kataib Hezbollah announced earlier Tuesday that it had decided to free her on the condition that she leave Iraq immediately.
“In appreciation of the national positions taken by the outgoing Prime Minister, we have decided to release the American detainee (Shelly Kittleson), on the condition that she leaves the country immediately,” the group said in a statement.
The militia added: “This initiative will not be repeated in the coming days. We are in a state of war waged by the Zionist-American enemy against Islam, and in such circumstances, many considerations fall away.”
The AP also reported that two officials within the militia, speaking anonymously, said several Kataib Hezbollah members previously detained by Iraqi authorities would be released in exchange for Kittleson’s freedom.
When Kittleson was kidnapped last Tuesday, the U.S. State Department said it had previously warned her of threats and was coordinating with the FBI to secure her release.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry said security forces tracked the kidnappers’ movements after the abduction, intercepted one of their vehicles after it overturned and arrested one suspect.
Kittleson is an award-winning freelance journalist who has reported from the Middle East and Afghanistan for Al-Monitor, Foreign Policy, the BBC World Service, New Lines Magazine and Politico, among other outlets.
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