BAGHDAD (AP) — An American journalist from Wisconsin was kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad, and Iraqi security forces are pursuing her captors, Iraqi officials said. The journalist was identified as freelancer Shelly Kittleson by one of the outlets she worked for.
A U.S. official blamed the Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah.
The Iraqi interior ministry confirmed a foreign journalist had been kidnapped but didn’t give more details. Two Iraqi security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case, said the kidnapped journalist is a woman and a U.S. citizen.
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They said that two cars were involved in the kidnapping, one of which crashed while being pursued near the town of Al-Haswa in Babil province southwest of Baghdad. The journalist was then transferred to a second car that fled the scene.
The interior ministry said security forces had launched an operation to track down the kidnappers, and intercepted 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.
The two Iraqi security officials said the journalist was abducted in central Baghdad’s Saadoun Street, and that an alert was sent to all checkpoints, leading to the pursuit of the kidnappers as they headed toward Babil province.
Al-Monitor, a regional news site covering the Middle East, said it was “deeply alarmed” and identified the journalist as Kittleson, a freelancer who contributed to the publication.
“We call for her safe and immediate release,” the statement said. “We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work.”
Kittleson has been a longtime freelancer in the region, reporting extensively from Syria and Iraq.
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad declined to comment. The U.S. State Department issued a statement, saying the Trump administration “has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans” and that it is “tracking these reports.”
Dylan Johnson, U.S. assistant secretary of state for public affairs, said on X that the “State Department previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them.”
“An individual with ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hezbollah believed to be involved in the kidnapping has been taken into custody by Iraqi authorities,” Johnson added.
A second U.S, official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to privacy concerns, said the abducted journalist had been warned multiple times, including as late as Monday night, that she was in danger and should leave Iraq immediately.
Iraqi officials have not publicly said anything about the kidnappers’ affiliation.
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Iran-backed militias in Iraq have launched regular attacks on U.S. facilities in the country since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Since the war began on Feb. 28, the U.S. Embassy has warned of kidnapping risks and urged citizens in Iraq to leave.
Iraqi militias have also kidnapped foreigners in the past.
Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton graduate student with Israeli and Russian citizenship, disappeared in Baghdad in 2023. After she was freed and handed over to U.S. authorities in September 2025, she said that she had been held by Kataib Hezbollah.
The group never officially claimed responsibility for kidnapping her.
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Sewell reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Stella Martany in Irbil, Iraq, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
