American independent journalist Shelly Kittleson was released a week after being kidnapped by the “Kataib Hezbollah” movement in Iraq.
According to an Iraqi intelligence security source who spoke to Alhurra, Kittleson was handed over to the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad following negotiations conducted by the Iraqi government with the Iran-aligned movement.
“Kataib Hezbollah” broadcast a video, which Alhurra is withholding from publication for reasons related to protecting the privacy of victims. In the video, Kittleson appears praising her captors and says that she had “trained with U.S. intelligence in Syria, and that the U.S. consul in Baghdad had asked her for information about the Kataib Hezbollah and al-Nujaba movements.”
The intelligence source said Kittleson may have been forced to make the confessions broadcast by the armed group after her abduction.
The al-Nujaba movement and Kataib Hezbollah are among the most prominent factions that carry out strikes against U.S. interests, and they have entered the war directly alongside Iran, carrying out dozens of attacks inside and outside Iraq.
Another government source told Alhurra that Iraqi intelligence played an important role in the release operation. “Not only that, but Shiite politicians helped Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani pressure the brigades to release her.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the announcement of her release. While thanking U.S. authorities, he also expressed gratitude to Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council.
Rubio said the United States is working to secure her safe departure from Iraq.
Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped in central Baghdad on March 31, had been working as a journalist in Iraq since 2015. She covered major developments in the country, from the period when ISIS controlled two-thirds of Iraq’s territory, to the October 2019 protests, and up to Iraq’s current position in relation to the ongoing regional war.
Kittleson’s abduction brought back memories of what happened to Russian-Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov in March 2003, whom Kataib Hezbollah released in September 2025.
Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, the security official of the brigades—designated as a terrorist organization by the United States—published a brief statement saying: “In appreciation of the positions of the outgoing prime minister, we have decided to release the accused American Shelly Kittleson, on the condition that she leaves Iraq immediately.”
An Iraqi politician familiar with the negotiations for Kittleson’s release, and one of the key actors in the ruling Shiite Coordination Framework, said: “Without government pressure, and without the presence of detainees from Kataib Hezbollah in government custody, she would not have been released.”
Alhurra had revealed details of the kidnapping and negotiations on April 4. At the time, Alhurra sources confirmed that the government was negotiating with Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq to release detainees affiliated with the group in exchange for Kittleson’s release.
Information obtained by Alhurra from a source familiar with the negotiations indicates that Kataib Hezbollah had not planned to release Kittleson this quickly. However, the arrest of the driver involved in the kidnapping, Amir Jabbar Rahim, created pressure that could not be ignored.
Since the night of the abduction, the National Intelligence Service has been conducting daily interrogations of the detained driver.
The Popular Mobilization Forces Security Directorate was part of the process of transferring and handing over Kittleson from her secret detention sites to the Green Zone, where the U.S. Embassy is located. Iraqi agencies, most notably the National Intelligence Service, also participated in the operation. Kittleson had earlier been transferred to the Jurf al-Nasr area (formerly Jurf al-Sakhar), south of Baghdad.
The exchange deal included terms described as harsh, as Iraqi authorities agreed to release a number of detainees from the brigades. However, information obtained by Alhurra from two sources was conflicting. A source within the Popular Mobilization Forces said that “16 individuals were released,” while a government source said they were “only six.”
Those released had previously been arrested on charges of carrying out attacks against U.S. interests in Iraq and the region.
Despite Kittleson’s release and the beginning of a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday again warned of potential operations targeting Americans in Iraq.
The article is a translation of the original Arabic.
Mustafa Saadoon
Mustafa Saadoon is an Iraqi journalist who has worked for several international and Arab media organizations. He covers politics and human rights.
