American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped from a Baghdad street corner last week, was released Tuesday, an Iraqi official with direct knowledge of the case said.
The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said Kittleson was freed in the afternoon. He did not disclose her whereabouts, but said she had been held in Baghdad before her release.
Earlier Tuesday, the Iran-backed Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement that it would release Kittleson. The group said its decision came “in appreciation of the patriotic stances of the outgoing prime minister,” Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, without elaborating. It added that “this initiative will not be repeated in the future” and said Kittleson must “leave the country immediately” after her release.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kataib Hezbollah had not previously acknowledged responsibility for Kittleson’s abduction, though U.S. and Iraqi officials had blamed the group.
Two Kataib Hezbollah officials, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, told the AP that several members of the group detained by Iraqi authorities would be released in exchange for Kittleson’s freedom.
Kittleson, 49, is a freelance journalist who has reported across the Middle East, especially in Iraq and Syria. U.S. officials have said they warned her several times about threats against her, but she did not want to leave Iraq.
Iraqi officials have said two cars were involved in the kidnapping. One crashed while being pursued near al-Haswa in Babil province, southwest of Baghdad, and Kittleson was transferred to a second car.
Earlier Tuesday, three Iraqi officials said efforts to negotiate her release had faced obstacles. One security official said a Popular Mobilization Forces official had been tasked with contacting the abductors, but had difficulty reaching Kataib Hezbollah’s leadership.
“The primary challenge is that the leaders of the Kataib armed group — specifically, the commanders of the battalions — are nowhere to be found. No one knows their whereabouts, and the process of establishing contact with them is extremely complex,” the official said.
“These leaders have gone underground, maintaining no active lines of communication, out of fear of being targeted.”
Kataib Hezbollah has previously been accused of kidnapping foreigners. Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton graduate student with Israeli and Russian citizenship who disappeared in Baghdad in 2023, said after her release in September 2025 that she had been held by the group.
