American Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq by Iran-Backed Group

An American freelance journalist has been kidnapped in Baghdad, probably by an Iran-backed militia, according to the US State Department, Iraqi authorities and Al-Monitor, a Washington-based news site to which the reporter was affiliated.

Al-Monitor published a story tying statements by the State Department and Iraqi authorities to Shelly Kittleson, a US reporter who has worked in Afghanistan and the Middle East. It issued its own statement calling for her “safe and immediate release.”