April 7, 2026

American journalist Shelly Kittleson is being released a week after she was kidnapped in Baghdad, an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq said Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the Kata’ib Hezbollah militia said in a post on the group’s Telegram messaging app channel that Kittleson was being released on the condition that she leave Iraq immediately.

Alex Plitsas, Kittleson’s designated point of contact in the U.S. and a CNN national security analyst, previously told CBS News the U.S. government had warned Kittleson about a specific threat against her by Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed paramilitary group that was allegedly looking to kidnap or kill female journalists.

Kittleson was contacted multiple times with warnings of threats against her, including as recently as the night before she was abducted, a U.S. official had told CBS News.

 

American journalist Shelly Kittleson is set to be freed after a terrifying week in captivity in Baghdad, with an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq saying Tuesday that the report of her release came with a hard condition: she must leave the country immediately. The Kata'ib Hezbollah militia announced the move on Telegram, as CBS News previously reported that U.S. officials had warned Kittleson about a specific threat against her from the group, which was allegedly targeting female journalists for kidnapping or killing. Kittleson, a seasoned reporter who lives in Rome and has worked in tough environments from Iraq to Syria, had been warned multiple times — including the night before she was abducted — but pressed ahead after being reassured by contacts in Iraq she would be safe.

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