Shelly Kittleson, an American journalist held in Baghdad for days, has been released following complex back-channel negotiations involving Iraq's militia groups and government officials.
American journalist Shelly Kittleson was freed in Baghdad on Tuesday after being held for days following her abduction from a street corner in the Iraqi capital, according to Iraqi officials and the militia that said it had been holding her. Kataib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed group long active in Iraq’s security and political landscape, said it had decided to release her and tied the move to what it called the patriotic stance of outgoing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. The group also said Kittleson should leave Iraq immediately after her release.
An Iraqi official with direct knowledge of the case said Kittleson was freed in the afternoon and had been held in Baghdad before her release. The official did not disclose where she was taken afterwards. The U.S. State Department had not immediately commented. Earlier, Iraqi authorities had said the kidnapping involved two vehicles, one of which crashed during a chase near al-Haswa in Babil province, southwest of Baghdad, before the journalist was moved to a second car that escaped.
The release came after a period of difficult back-channel talks. Iraqi security officials and a political source said negotiators had struggled to reach senior Kataib Hezbollah figures, who they said had gone underground and were avoiding contact. One security official said a representative from the Popular Mobilisation Forces had been asked to speak to the abductors, while a political source said Baghdad was willing to free six detained Kataib Hezbollah members, most of them linked to attacks on a US base in Syria, in exchange for Kittleson. Militia officials also said some of their detained members would be released as part of the arrangement.
Kittleson, 49, is a freelance reporter who has spent years working across the Middle East, including in Iraq and Syria, and had entered Iraq again shortly before her abduction. Reports said she had previously been warned about threats to her safety by US officials, but declined to leave. As a freelancer, she worked without the security backing available to many staff journalists, reflecting the risks faced by independent correspondents covering conflict zones.
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Source: Noah Wire Services
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