Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Shelly Kittleson, an American freelance journalist, who was kidnapped in Baghdad, Iraq, by Iran-backed jihadist militia Kata’ib Hezbollah, had been released.
In a post on X, Rubio noted that the Department of State “extends its appreciation” to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of War, as well as the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council for helping to secure Kittleson’s release. Rubio also expressed that “this resolution reflects the Trump Administration’s steadfast commitment to the safety and security of American citizens.”
“I am pleased to announce the release of American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was recently kidnapped by members of the foreign terrorist organization Kata’ib Hizballah near Baghdad, Iraq,” Rubio shared.
Rubio highlighted how under the Trump administration “the wrongful detention or kidnapping of U.S. nationals will not be tolerated.”
“We will continue to use every tool to bring Americans home and to hold accountable those responsible,” Rubio added.
Rubio’s announcement came a week after the Iraqi Interior Ministry confirmed that a journalist had been abducted, though Kittleson’s identity was not revealed, Breitbart News’s John Hayward reported.
Video footage of Kittleson’s abduction shows two men accosting her and forcing “her into a car”:
The Iraqi Interior Ministry confirmed that a foreign journalist was abducted on Tuesday, but did not officially reveal the identity of the victim. Two unnamed Iraqi security officials later told the Associated Press (AP) that the victim was a female United States citizen.
Video of the abduction was caught by security cameras and quickly spread across social media. In the video, two men accost the victim on a street corner in central Baghdad and force her into a car, apparently with some difficulty.
The Iraqi security sources who spoke to the Associated Press said the “unknown individuals” made their getaway in two vehicles, one of which crashed during hot pursuit near the town of Al-Haswa, south of Baghdad. The individuals and their victim transferred into another vehicle and eluded their pursuers.
In a statement, Kata’ib Hezbollah shared that Kittleson had been released on the condition that she “leave the country immediately,” the Associated Press reported.
“Two officials” from Kata’ib Hezbollah told the outlet that “in exchange” for Kittleson’s release, members of the militia group that had “been detained by Iraqi authorities would be released.”
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