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  "path": "/post/208425/american-journalist-kidnapped-baghdad-middle-east",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-31T18:33:55.000Z",
  "site": "https://newrepublic.com",
  "tags": [
    "Breaking News",
    "Shelly Kittleson",
    "Middle East",
    "Iraq",
    "Iran",
    "iran war",
    "Journalism",
    "Media",
    "United States",
    "reported",
    "pic.twitter.com/w6JjKFls6u",
    "March 31, 2026",
    "said",
    "@FaytuksNetwork"
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  "textContent": "American journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in broad daylight in Baghdad on Tuesday. The Iraqi Ministry of Interior stated that Kittleson, who has covered the Middle East for various outlets, was taken by “unknown individuals.”\n\n“Security forces immediately launched an operation to apprehend the perpetrators, acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations, tracking the kidnappers’ movements. The pursuit resulted in the interception of a vehicle belonging to the kidnappers, which overturned as they attempted to escape. Security forces were able to arrest one of the suspects and seize one of the vehicles used in the crime,” the ministry reported.\n\nThe investigation to find the remaining perpetrators, and to free Kittleson, is ongoing.\n\n> Slightly higher quality. pic.twitter.com/w6JjKFls6u\n>\n> — Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) March 31, 2026\n\nKittleson has written extensively for outlets like BBC World, Politico, Al-Monitor, and _Foreign Policy_. She was awarded the Premio Caravella award in Italy in 2017 for her war zone reporting.\n\n“We are deeply alarmed by the kidnapping of Al-Monitor contributor Shelly Kittleson in Iraq on Tuesday,” Al-Monitor said in a statement. “We call for her safe and immediate release. We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work.”",
  "title": "American Journalist Snatched Off the Street in Baghdad"
}