American freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in Baghdad on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in a brazen abduction that American freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in Baghdad on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Iraqi security forces launched an immediate pursuit of the kidnappers, intercepting one of their vehicles and arresting a suspect who U.S. officials say has ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hezbollah.. Iraqi security forces launched an immediate pursuit of the kidnappers, intercepting one of their vehicles and arresting a suspect, but Kittleson remains missing as a sprawling multinational effort to secure her release takes shape.
Iraq’s Interior Ministry confirmed that a foreign journalist had been kidnapped but did not publicly identify the person by name, according to NBC News. Al-Monitor, a Middle East news outlet for which Kittleson has contributed reporting, identified her as the victim. Based in Rome, Kittleson has spent years covering Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan, and her work has appeared in the BBC, Politico, Foreign Policy, and New Lines Magazine, according to Newsweek.
The kidnapping unfolded with alarming speed. Two Iraqi security officials said two vehicles were involved in the abduction, as The Washington Times reported. Iraqi security forces intercepted one of the vehicles near the town of Al-Haswa in Babil province, southwest of Baghdad. The vehicle crashed during the pursuit, and one suspect was arrested at the scene.
Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, stated on social media that the apprehended suspect has ties to Kataib Hezbollah, the powerful Iranian-backed militia that has long operated with significant influence inside Iraq. Johnson said the State Department will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure Kittleson’s release as quickly as possible, as NPR reported.
Perhaps most troubling is the revelation that Kittleson had been repeatedly warned about the danger she faced. Johnson said the State Department had previously fulfilled its duty to warn Kittleson of threats against her. He added that Americans, including media workers, have been advised not to travel to Iraq and should leave the country.
Alex Plitsas, Kittleson’s designated point of contact in the United States and a CNN national security analyst, confirmed the kidnapping to CBS News. Plitsas said the U.S. government had warned Kittleson about a specific threat by Kataib Hezbollah, which was allegedly looking to kidnap or kill female journalists. He said Kittleson was advised that her name was on a list in the militia group’s possession.
Despite those warnings, Kittleson traveled to Baghdad. Journalist Kiran Nazish, founder and director of the Coalition for Women in Journalism, told CBS News she was in contact with Kittleson on Thursday before the journalist departed for the Iraqi capital. According to Nazish, Kittleson acknowledged via text message that she had been advised not to travel but said she was doing what she had always done.
Meanwhile, according to CNN Politics, U.S. and Iraqi officials had warned Kittleson to leave Iraq multiple times in recent weeks due to threats from an Iranian proxy group. Reporters Without Borders noted that Kittleson is very familiar with Iraq, where she stays for extended periods — a deep familiarity that may have given her a sense of security even as the threat environment deteriorated.
The scope of the U.S. response underscores the gravity of the situation. According to CBS News sources, the FBI, National Security Council, State Department, Delta Force, and the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service are all in contact about the case. The U.S. State Department said in a statement that the Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans and that it is tracking the reports, as PBS News reported. A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad declined to comment.
The abduction also came just two days after the U.S. Embassy in Iraq warned on March 29 that Iran and its aligned terrorist militias may intend to target American universities in Baghdad and other cities — a signal that threats against U.S. nationals in the country were escalating rapidly.
Press freedom organizations moved swiftly to condemn the kidnapping. The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Iraqi authorities to locate Kittleson, ensure her immediate and safe release, and hold those responsible accountable.
The case carries echoes of a previous high-profile abduction. Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton University graduate student with Israeli and Russian citizenship who disappeared in Baghdad in 2023, was freed and handed over to U.S. authorities in September 2025. Tsurkov said she had been held by Kataib Hezbollah — the same group now suspected of seizing Kittleson. That earlier case, which lasted 903 days from March 2023 to September 2025, looms heavily over the current crisis as officials race to bring the American journalist home., a timeline that looms heavily over the current crisis as officials race to bring the American journalist home.
