The Iraqi militia holding American journalist Shelly Kittleson released her on Tuesday in a prisoner swap deal a week after her abduction in Baghdad, two security officials told The National.
Earlier, Kataib Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-backed group, said it had decided to release Kittleson on the condition on that she leave Iraq immediately.
The group's spokesman Abu Mujahid Al Assaf said her release came “in appreciation of the national positions" of departing Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani. He did not elaborate.
Two security officials confirmed that she was released and handed over to Iraqi government in exchange for some Kataib Hezbollah prisoners in government custody. They did not divulge further details.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later confirmed Kittleson's release, thanking American government agencies as well as "our Iraqi partners".
"We are relieved that this American is now free and are working to support her safe departure from Iraq," he said in a post on X.
The group released a purported confession video in which Kittleson pleads for her release.
In the video, she says she received three months of training from American officers in Syria. She says she was asked by the US consulate to gather information about the pro-Iran Popular Mobilisation Forces and other militias in Iraq.
It was unclear whether Kittleson was coerced into making the statements in the video.
Kittleson, a freelance journalist, was kidnapped in Baghdad on March 31, sparking international concern and efforts to secure her release. The 49-year-old has reported extensively from conflict zones, including Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
Her abduction was widely condemned, with the US State Department working with Iraqi authorities for her release. Kataib Hezbollah, a prominent paramilitary group in Iraq, has been linked to several attacks on US targets in the region.
Iraqi officials had previously indicated that Kataib Hezbollah was responsible for Kittleson's kidnapping, and efforts to negotiate her release had been under way. The group's announcement of Kittleson's release comes as the war between the US and Iran plays out on Iraqi territory.
The circumstances surrounding her abduction and release are still unclear. Kittleson's work has taken her to some of the world's most volatile regions, and her reporting has been widely published.
