American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 31, is to be released by her abductors, according to the Iran-backed group that allegedly took her captive.
Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official with Hezbollah Brigades, also known as Kataib Hezbollah, announced that Kittleson will be released on the condition that «she leaves the country immediately.»
Al-Assaf said in a statement, «This initiative will not be repeated again in the coming days, as we are in a state of war waged by the Zionist-American enemy against Islam, and in such cases many considerations fall away.»
Shelly Kittleson is seen in a photo from her X account.
@shellykittleson/X
Kittleson, a 49-year-old freelance journalist originally from Wisconsin, was abducted off a street in Baghdad in broad daylight, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Interior.
Security video verified by ABC News and confirmed by Iraq’s interior ministry captured the moment Kittleson was kidnapped while standing on a sidewalk. The footage showed a silver car approach Kittleson as several people grabbed her and forced her into the vehicle before it sped away.
A second car allegedly involved in the abduction crashed as it tried to flee and one occupant was arrested by Iraqi security forces, Dylan Johnson, U.S. assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, said in a statement last week.
The suspect under arrest has ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hezbollah, Johnson said in a statement Tuesday.
As a search for Kittleson was launched, U.S. officials issued a new warning to Americans still in Iraq, advising them to leave the country immediately as Iraqi terrorist militia groups aligned with Iran may «intend to conduct attacks» in central Baghdad.
The new alert comes as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has entered its second month.
Johnson said the State Department had warned Kittleson «multiple times» of threats against her and was coordinating with the FBI to ensure her release.
But Kiran Nazish, director of the Coalition for Women in Journalism, told ABC News last week that threats against journalists working in Iraq and across the Middle East are common and that Kittleson had been threatened before.
Nazish, who described Kittleson as a colleague, said Kittleson is a resilient reporter who knows the country well and was «very vigilant and careful.»
«She has a very strong, perhaps like the most I know of someone, network of trusted allies who would protect her and she would feel safe with, and I don’t think she would go without that,» Nazish said.
ABC News’ Bader Katy contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
