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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the American journalist kidnapped in Iraq is Shelly Kittleson, citing the country’s interior ministry and one of her employers.
Reuters also reported that Kittleson was the journalist kidnapped, citing Iraqi police sources. The Journal reported that Kittleson has contributed to various outlets, including Al Monitor, a news website launched in 2012 to provide reporting and analysis from the Middle East.
She has also worked for international outlets including the BBC and Politico, London’s Telegraph reported. Footage, broadcast on local television stations appeared to show the moment multiple men bundled Kittleson into a car on a busy thoroughfare, the Telegraph said.
The outlet said it was alarmed by Kittleson’s kidnapping and called for her safe and immediate release.
Two security sources said the journalist was kidnapped on Tuesday from central Baghdad, the Associated Press reported. The sources said the kidnappers’ vehicle – with the journalist inside – was involved in a crash near the town of Al-Haswa in Babil province, but the journalist was transferred to a second car that fled the scene.
One suspect was arrested and one of the vehicles used in the kidnapping was seized, but others remain on the loose, Iraq’s Interior Ministry said in a statement.
