The Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah has announced that it will release Shelly Kittleson, a journalist from the United States whose recent abduction in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad prompted calls for her release from press freedom groups.
The Iran-backed group said on Tuesday that Kittleson would be freed on the condition that she leave Iraq immediately. An anonymous Iraqi official confirmed her release to The Associated Press on Tuesday afternoon.The 49-year-old freelance reporter was first abducted on March 31, and media reports indicate she had been kept in detention in Baghdad.
Kataib Hezbollah added that its decision came in response to “the national stances of the outgoing prime minister” of Iraq, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, without offering additional details.
Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official with the group, warned that the “exceptional gesture” would not be repeated again.
The Associated Press reported that Kittleson was released in exchange for several imprisoned Kataib Hezbollah members, citing anonymous members of the militia.
During her detention, publications Kittleson had worked for, including Al-Monitor, praised her for her commitment to covering conflicts in the Middle East, often on a sparse budget.
“We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work,” Al-Monitor wrote in a statement upon her capture.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a press freedom group, also called her kidnapping an “alarming breach of journalists’ safety” and called on authorities to secure her release. US officials have said they warned Kittleson of threats to her safety, but that she had not wanted to leave Iraq. When not travelling in the Middle East for her reporting, Kittleson is based in Rome. Tuesday’s announcement comes at a moment of heightened tension in Iraq, where Iran-backed groups, some of them part of the state’s security forces, have carried out attacks on US forces amid the US-Israel war on Iran. Iran-backed groups have likewise been targeted by US and Israeli attacks.
To secure Kittleson’s release, security officials explained that they used a representative from the Popular Mobilisation Forces, a coalition of Iran-backed militias, to communicate with Kataib Hezbollah, a notoriously secretive group.
“The primary challenge is that the leaders of the Kataib militia — specifically, the commanders of the battalions — are nowhere to be found. No one knows their whereabouts, and the process of establishing contact with them is extremely complex,” an unnamed security official told The Associated Press, explaining complications in reaching a deal for Kittleson’s release under the current conditions.
“These leaders have gone underground, maintaining no active lines of communication, out of fear of being targeted.”
Credit :Al Jazeera
