Iraqi armed group says it will release abducted US journalist, says she must leave Iraq immediately

BAGHDAD, April 7 (Reuters) - Iraqi armed group Kataib Hezbollah, which is aligned with Iran, said on Tuesday it would release abducted U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson, adding that she must leave Iraq immediately.

Kittleson was abducted in late March in Baghdad.

Middle East news site Al-Monitor said Kittleson was a U.S. freelance journalist based in Rome who had covered several wars in the region and had contributed articles to the outlet.

A video purporting to show Kittleson was shared by a social media outlet close to Kataib Hezbollah on Tuesday.

Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the video, which if confirmed would be the first images of Kittleson published since her kidnapping.

In the video, a woman identifying herself as Kittleson appears standing against a plain background, speaking in English directly to the camera. Reuters could not verify when or where it was filmed.

Her release follows intensified efforts by the Iraqi government and several influential Shi'ite leaders, who applied pressure on the militia group to secure her freedom, a government official with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

In March 2023, an Israeli-Russian graduate student from Princeton University, Elizabeth Tsurkov, was kidnapped by Kataib Hezbollah militia during a research trip to Iraq. She was released in 2025.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Matthew Lewis)