In a particularly worrying matter, a U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson has been kidnapped from Iraq. Local security institutions are investigating, while media workers of color who are based in volatile areas have lost their lives in clashes.
Kittleson was last seen out and about the capital Baghdad for her job where she was working on regional political and security activities, reports suggest. Everything about the kidnap of Kittleson is still not entirely clear about who might have done it and why.
Iraqi security forces have launched extensive searches, hiring detectives and working closely with local governments to trace her whereabouts. They also reported having erected checkpoints at airports, and taking a closer look at people’s surveillance footage in an effort to find tips, police sources say.
We could not confirm whether militants, criminal networks, or other agents are behind the kidnapping," the ministry says and police have yet to confirm if the abductions took place. But in recent years we have heard a lot of abductions of activists, reporters and foreign nationals - and these days the majority of them are still in Iraq.
The U.S. Government is closely following developments. And while there has been no official announcement so far on what is to happen and in what way specific action would be taken regarding Kittleson, we are certain that diplomatic channels will be engaged to ensure that she’s released and Kittleson’s safe in this case.
It was reported today that media organizations and activist groups for press freedom have expressed dismay at the report and urged swift action to help keep her safe. It puts journalists traveling from volatile regions in very poor situations in an already dangerous world yet it represents the worst situation we see despite recent security improvements in Iraq in that area but we never want those threats so bad.
As the search is on a nationwide basis, investigators and the public are calling on the public to help locate the journalist. The investigation will take an even more complicated look from all angles.
