War: American journalist kidnapped in Iraq

An American journalist, Shelly Kittleson, has been taken hostage in Baghdad by a suspected Iranian-backed Iraqi militant group, the US stated, amid worsening regional security following the US-Israeli strike on Iran.

The US State Department said it is trying to get the American person freed as quickly as they can.

Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, wrote on X that an individual connected to the Iranian-linked militia group, Kataib Hezballah, which is thought to be involved in the kidnapping, has been arrested by Iraqi authorities.

Iraq said that authorities intercepted a vehicle that overturned as they tried to flee.

The Iraqi interior ministry stated in a statement that security forces managed to arrest one suspect and seize one of the vehicles involved in the crime.

The ministry said that work is still being done to find the other people involved and to get the kidnapped journalist back safely. An Iraqi security official shared with Agence France-Presse that the kidnapping happened in Baghdad.

Iraqi officials did not name the person who carried out the attack or the person who was harmed.

The journalist was identified as Shelly Kittleson, a freelancer, by media advocacy groups and Al-Monitor, one of the news outlets she contributed to.

Kittleson has been a freelance journalist in the area for a long time, covering news in-depth from Syria and Iraq.