An Iran-backed armed group in Iraq has released an American female journalist they abducted late last month, on the condition that she must leave Iraq immediately.
On 7 April 2026, a senior Iraqi official told CNN that the Iraqi government had taken custody of Shelly Kittleson, an American female journalist, after she was released from detention by the Iran-backed armed group on the same day.
The official added that the government is currently making arrangements for her travel back to her home country.
Earlier on Tuesday, Abu Mujahid Al-Assaf, head of security for Kataib Hezbollah—an Iran-backed armed group in Iraq—posted a statement on Telegram announcing their decision to release Kittleson, who was abducted in Baghdad in March, "on the condition that she leaves the country immediately."
The statement concluded, "Such actions will not happen again in the future. We are in a state of war against Zionist-American enemies of Islam, and under such circumstances, many considerations are set aside."
Kittleson is a journalist specializing in the Middle East. She was abducted in Baghdad on 31 March. Sources close to the matter said the U.S. government had warned her shortly before her disappearance about plans by Kataib Hezbollah to abduct or kill her.
Source:cnn