An American journalist was kidnapped in central Baghdad on Tuesday, with suspicion falling on an Iranian-backed militia group that US officials say had previously threatened to abduct or kill her.

Shelly Kittleson, a Middle East and Afghanistan correspondent whose work has appeared in US, international, and Italian outlets, was seized in Iraq despite repeated warnings from US and Iraqi officials urging her to leave the country. Al-Monitor, a US-based news organization for which she contributes, confirmed the abduction and called for her “safe and immediate release.”

“We are deeply alarmed by the abduction of Kittleson,” Al-Monitor said in a statement. “We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work.”

US Assistant Secretary of State Dylan Johnson said Tuesday that an individual with ties to Kataib Hezbollah — an Iranian-aligned militia with a history of targeting Americans — had been taken into custody by Iraqi authorities in connection with the kidnapping. Johnson said the State Department had previously warned Kittleson of threats against her.

“The 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,” Johnson wrote on X.

Sources told CNN that US and Iraqi officials had been tracking a Kataib Hezbollah plot to kidnap or kill Kittleson for weeks and had warned her to leave Iraq multiple times. One source said the warning was issued while she was already on the ground reporting in the country.

The US government is actively tracking the kidnapping and working with Iraqi authorities to secure her release, a US official said. Iraq’s Ministry of Interior confirmed that a female foreign journalist had been abducted in central Baghdad by unknown individuals and said security forces had seized one of the vehicles used in the kidnapping and apprehended one suspect. An operation to locate the remaining perpetrators and free Kittleson is underway, the ministry said.

The US Embassy in Iraq has issued repeated warnings to American citizens to leave the country since the conflict with Iran began in late February, cautioning that Iranian-backed militias could target Americans for kidnapping. “Do not travel to Iraq for any reason. Depart immediately if you are there,” the embassy said in its most recent advisory over the weekend.

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