Iraqi security officials have given some hope to the abductees for Shelly Kittleson, the freelance American journalist kidnapped in Baghdad last week. According to officials in Baghdad, they believe that Kittleson is alive and that she is still in Jurf al-Sakhar - a popular centre of the Iran-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah which is located about 40 miles south of the capital.
But it is not easy to know which militia is trying to take her, the situation is so precarious as it has apparently been in talks with a group of individuals who wanted the journalist kidnapped by them to be used as their hostage to gain a high-pressure deal for her release.
The kidnapping: A Bold Daylight abduction
The journalist was kidnapped on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. Dramatic CCTV footage from shortly after came out of Baghdad as soon as she was on al-Saadoun Street near her hotel and a car approached and then two men approached her. And the militia is seeking the release of four militia members who were arrested for firing rockets on a military base in Syria.
Representatives of the militia have approached government officials to make the prisoner swap, too. But for both the U.S. and Iraq, that’s a diplomatic minefield the militia is a designated foreign terrorist organization and receives some help through the Iraqi government’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) regime.
U.S. Reaction And Security Warnings
The U.S. State Department says it is working “around the clock” with the FBI and the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell to bring Kittleson home. But officials said Kittleson was warned of the threat and had been warned many times about the dangers. These were very real events and the Americans in Iraq experienced a great risk in Iraq and a strong warning for all U.S. citizens to escape.
Who is Kataib Hezbollah?
Kataib Hezbollah is one of the most powerful and shadowy paramilitary groups in Iraq and has deep ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC). It has a long history of targeting Westerners; in particular, for more than two years they captured Israeli-Russian researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, which they have held for more than two years before her release in late 2025.
Tsurkov later detailed severe abuse when she was held in the same bastion of power that Kittleson is believed to be in and there is no news of her current home in the same place. Talks continue and the international community also continues to push for Jurf al-Sakhar’s return, hopeful for a diplomatic breakthrough to bring her home to the world to be safe.
