American-Italian freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson has been abducted by unidentified gunmen in Baghdad on Tuesday, Iraq’s interior ministry said, with a search underway to find the purpetrators.
The ministry added that investigations were underway to determine the nature of the incident, and would provide additional details later.
Two Iraqi security officials, who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the case, said that two cars were involved in the kidnapping, one of which crashed and was apprehended, while a second car fled the scene with the journalist, heading toward the south of Baghdad.
The 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.
Security footage published on social media have suggested she was kidnapped near the Baghdad Hotel on Saadoun Street.
Security sources told Sharq News that the suspects may have been part of the journalist’s security team and affiliated with a security agency. The sources also suggested she had been transferred to the Babil Governorate.
Kittleson is a journalist specialising in covering the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Her work has been published in several international, US and Italian media outlets, as well as being a regular contributor to The New Arab.
Trump administration sources reportedly told Al-Monitor that they were aware of threats made against her and had advised her not to travel to Iraq.
This is a developing story and we’ll be updating the article as we know more.
