Iraqi armed group says it will release abducted US journalist, says she must leave Iraq immediately

BAGHDAD, April 7 (Reuters) - Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah, which is aligned with ​Iran, said on Tuesday it would release ‌abducted U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson, adding that she must leave Iraq immediately.

Kittleson was abducted in late March in Baghdad.

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Middle East ​news site Al-Monitor said Kittleson was a U.S. ​freelance journalist based in Rome who had covered ⁠several wars in the region and had contributed ​articles to the outlet.

A video purporting to show ​Kittleson was shared by a social media outlet close to Kataib Hezbollah on Tuesday.

Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of ​the video, which if confirmed would be the ​first images of Kittleson published since her kidnapping.

In the video, ‌a ⁠woman identifying herself as Kittleson appears standing against a plain background, speaking in English directly to the camera. Reuters could not verify when or where it ​was filmed.

Her release ​follows intensified ⁠efforts by the Iraqi government and several influential Shi’ite leaders, who applied pressure ​on the militia group to secure ​her freedom, ⁠a government official with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

In March 2023, an Israeli-Russian graduate student from ⁠Princeton ​University, Elizabeth Tsurkov, was kidnapped by ​Kataib Hezbollah militia during a research trip to Iraq. She was ​released in 2025.

Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Matthew Lewis

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