A journalist was released on Tuesday. The United States indicates working to facilitate her departure from Iraq safely.
The pro-Iranian Iraqi group Kata’b Hezbollah stated that they released American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped at the end of March. This information was confirmed by the United States.
Her release was announced by the group a few hours before Washington and Tehran agreed on a ceasefire after more than five weeks of war in the Middle East.
“We have decided to release the accused American Shelly Kittleson conditionally, on the condition that she leaves the country immediately,” said Abou Moujahid al-Assaf, a security official within the Iran-backed group.
An exceptional gesture that “will not be repeated.”
He added that this was an exceptional gesture that “will not be repeated (…) because we are in a war led by the Zionist-American enemy against Islam, and in such a situation, many considerations are abandoned,” referring to the war between Israel and the United States on one side and Iran on the other.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later confirmed the news, saying, “We are relieved that this American is now free, and we are working to facilitate her departure from Iraq safely.”
A senior Iraqi security official had told AFP on April 1 that authorities had arrested a member of a pro-Iranian group suspected of being linked to the abduction of an American journalist.
Marco Rubio stated that Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped by the Kata’b Hezbollah group, an organization on the U.S. blacklist.
Warning against threats.
The State Department did not give the name of Shelly Kittleson, but she was identified by press freedom organizations and one of the media outlets she worked for. Based in Rome, the journalist regularly covers news in the Middle East and has worked for publications like Al-Monitor.
The Trump administration had previously defended itself, with officials claiming they had warned her about threats.
After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the ensuing violence, Iraq has been marked by kidnappings and attempted kidnappings, but their numbers have decreased in recent years against the backdrop of improved security.
Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsourkov was notably kidnapped in the Iraqi capital in 2023. She was held for two years before being released last year.
