![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774996150_693_2017-06-08T131939Z_1189275883_RC11B0FE7F20_RTRMADP_3_GULF-QATAR-JAZEERA-1714943623.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nPublished On 31 Mar 202631 Mar 2026<\/p>\n
A foreign journalist has been kidnapped in Iraq, the Ministry of Interior confirms, without providing any information about the reporter\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n
The ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that the journalist was kidnapped by \u201cunknown individuals\u201d in Baghdad, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).<\/p>\n
Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n
Security forces arrested one of the suspects and seized a vehicle used in the abduction after a pursuit of the kidnappers, the ministry said.<\/p>\n
It added that efforts are continuing to find those involved in the kidnapping and secure the release of the journalist.<\/p>\n
Iraq has experienced a rise in violence in recent weeks amid the US-Israel war on Iran, with Iraqi security forces targeted<\/a> in attacks in Anbar province and other areas.<\/p>\n The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said it was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d following media reports that US freelance journalist Shelley Kittleson was abducted.<\/p>\n \u201cCPJ calls on Iraqi authorities to do everything in their power to locate Shelley Kittleson, ensure her immediate and safe release, and hold those responsible to account,\u201d said the group\u2019s Middle East regional director, Sara Qudah.<\/p>\n State Department official Dylan Johnson said in a statement on X that the US was \u201caware of the reported kidnapping of an American journalist\u201d in Baghdad.<\/p>\n \u201cThe State Department previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them and we will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n He added that an individual with ties to Iraqi paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah<\/a> who was \u201cbelieved to be involved in the kidnapping\u201d was taken into custody by the Iraqi authorities.<\/p>\n \u2018Threats from all sides\u2019<\/p>\n Press freedom groups have routinely called on Iraq to do more to protect journalists from intimidation and violence.<\/p>\n \u201cBetween political instability and financial pressure, journalists face threats from all sides and are up against the weakness of the state, which is failing in its duty to protect them,\u201d Reporters Without Borders says<\/a> on its website.<\/p>\n The organisation also noted that abductions are \u201coften used to terrorise and silence\u201d reporters. \u201cInfluential, high-profile journalists used to be the main targets of this form of intimidation but nowadays it is also used against lesser-known journalists,\u201d the group said.<\/p>\n CPJ also has documented a series<\/a> of press freedom violations since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28.<\/p>\n