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Footage has emerged showing a US journalist kidnapped in Iraq.
The kidnapping occurred in Baghdad on Tuesday, according to Iraqi officials, who said efforts were underway to find the whistleblower and perpetrators.
The journalist was named as freelancer Shelly Kittleson by one of the publications she worked for.
Middle East Crisis: Follow the latest developments
Here’s everything we know about the incident so far.
What has happened?
The kidnapping took place on March 31 on Saadoun Street in downtown Baghdad, before the perpetrators headed southwest towards Babil province.
Iraqi security officials said two cars were involved.
An alert was then distributed to all checkpoints, leading to a chase in which one of the vehicles reportedly crashed near the town of al-Haswa.
The other car, carrying Ms Kittleson, fled the scene.
Footage shows a car pulling up next to Kittleson as he stands on a street corner in downtown Baghdad.
He was approached by two men, one getting out of the car and another walking beside him.
There appeared to be a brief struggle as they loaded him into the back of the vehicle.
A few moments later, the car sped away.
Hussein Alawi, an adviser to Iraq’s prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, said that Kittleson wanted to enter the country via the al-Qaim crossing from Syria on March 9 but was rejected because he did not have a press work permit and because of security concerns resulting from “the escalation of war and air projectiles in Iraqi airspace as a result of the war on Iran”.
He then entered the country after obtaining a 60-day single-entry visa to Iraq issued to allow foreign nationals stranded in neighboring countries to “transit through Iraq to reach their home countries via available transportation routes,” Alawi said.
Following the incident, the Iraqi Ministry said one suspect had been arrested and efforts were now underway to find Kittleson and his kidnappers.
It said security forces had launched the operation “acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations”.
It is not yet clear whether the kidnapping is related to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Who is Shelly Kittleson?
According to his X profile, Kittleson was an award-winning journalist for more than 15 years, covering the Middle East and contributing to media such as Politico, Foreign Policy magazine, and the BBC World Service.
One of the outlets he contributed to, Al-Monitor, released a statement on Tuesday saying they were “deeply concerned by the kidnapping.”
Ms. Kittleson has contributed to a variety of media outlets including Politico and Foreign Policy magazine. photo:
In a brief statement, the publication said: “We support her important reporting from the region and call on her immediate return to continue her important work.”
They then called for his “safe and immediate release”.
What does the US say?
In a statement, the US State Department said it was aware of the incident and emphasized that “the Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of the American people”.
He added that “due to privacy and other considerations, we have nothing more to share at this time.”
Assistant Secretary Dylan Johnson wrote on social media that the State Department had previously warned “this individual of threats against them” and said it would “continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible.”
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Johnson, who blamed the Iran-backed Iraqi militia, Kataib Hezbollah, for the kidnapping, added: “Iraq remains at Travel Advisory Level 4 and Americans are advised not to travel to Iraq for any reason and to leave Iraq now.”
