{"id":2586177,"date":"2026-04-01T14:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T18:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/disturbing-video-female-american-journalist-kidnapped-by-iranian-backed-terrorists-as-men-walking-past-do-nothing\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T14:43:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T18:43:14","slug":"disturbing-video-female-american-journalist-kidnapped-by-iranian-backed-terrorists-as-men-walking-past-do-nothing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/disturbing-video-female-american-journalist-kidnapped-by-iranian-backed-terrorists-as-men-walking-past-do-nothing\/","title":{"rendered":"Disturbing Video: Female American Journalist Kidnapped by Iranian-Backed Terrorists as Men Walking Past Do Nothing"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdisturbing-video-female-american-journalist-kidnapped-by-iranian-backed-terrorists-as-men-walking-past-do-nothing%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2586177&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An American journalist, Shelly Kittleson, was kidnapped in Baghdad, with <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >video showing masked men forcing<\/a> her into a vehicle. The Associated Press identified her as a freelancer who contributes to Al-Monitor, which said it was deeply alarmed and called for her safe and immediate release.The Washington Post later reported she was not on assignment for Al-Monitor at the time and noted she is based in Rome, contributing to BBC, Foreign Policy, and Politico. Iraqi security officials said two vehicles were involved in the kidnapping; one crashed during the pursuit in Al-Haswa, and Kittleson was then transferred to the second vehicle. U.S. officials,including State Department spokesperson Dylan Johnson,said they are aware of the kidnapping and are working across agencies to secure her return.Iraqi authorities linked the operation to Kataib Hezbollah,an Iran-backed militia aligned with Iran\u2019s Axis of Resistance,though its exact role in the current conflict remains unclear. The episode underscores the ongoing risks for journalists in the region and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/threat-from-iranian-retaliation-strikes-spreads-across-middle-east\/\" title=\"Threat from Iranian retaliation strikes spreads across Middle East\">fragile security situation<\/a> in Iraq.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>The kidnapping of an American journalist, allegedly by an Iranian-backed extremist group, was caught on video in Baghdad Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/iraq-journalist-kidnapped-926840aa37ac059f05069e146d1fe17b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Associated Press<\/a>, the kidnapped woman was identified as Shelly Kittleson, a freelancer who contributes to Middle Eastern outlet Al-Monitor.<\/p>\n<p>Al-Monitor said it was &ldquo;deeply alarmed&rdquo; by the kidnapping in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We call for her safe and immediate release,&rdquo; the statement added. &ldquo;We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>However, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2026\/03\/31\/shelly-kittleson-journalist-kidnapped-baghdad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Washington Post<\/a> reported she was not on assignment for Al-Monitor when she was abducted. Based in Rome, she also contributes to the BBC, Foreign Policy, and Politico.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/five-conservative-films-amazon-and-jeff-bezos-have-censored\/\" title=\"Five Conservative Films Amazon And Jeff Bezos Have Censored\">global public affairs<\/a> for the State Department, said they were &ldquo;aware of the reported kidnapping of an American journalist in Baghdad.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Video widely distributed on social media showed Kittleson being forced into a vehicle by several men:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Slightly higher quality. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/w6JjKFls6u\">pic.twitter.com\/w6JjKFls6u<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FaytuksNetwork\/status\/2039028314963103803?\">March 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>While some reports said that Kittleson had been found alive but wounded, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.al-monitor.com\/originals\/2026\/03\/american-journalist-shelly-kittleson-abducted-iraq\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Al-Monitor&rsquo;s<\/a> report disputed this, saying that &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/documents-suggest-tsa-union-may-be-illegal\/\" title=\"Documents suggest TSA union may be illegal\">security forces&#038;rdquo<\/a>; were &ldquo;work[ing] to track down the perpetrators.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"qme\"><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4vgwrowCCA\">pic.twitter.com\/4vgwrowCCA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Esam79 (@Esam793) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Esam793\/status\/2039023349213319496?\">March 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Iraqi security officials told the AP that there were two vehicles involved in the kidnapping.<\/p>\n<p>One crashed during the pursuit in the town of Al-Haswa, south of Baghdad. However, officials said Kittleson was then transferred to the second vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>American officials said that Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah was responsible for the kidnapping.<\/p>\n<p>The group, which came together in the mid-2000s, is part of what Iran has called its &ldquo;Axis of Resistance&rdquo; &mdash; a region-wide group of allies and proxies that act in the interests of Tehran.<\/p>\n<p>The axis has significantly deteriorated over the past few years, with the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the decimation of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/palestinian-activist-hamas-hid-baby-formula-aid-make-israel-look-bad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hamas in the Gaza Strip<\/a>, and Lebanon&rsquo;s crackdown on Hezbollah.<\/p>\n<p>During the Iraq War, Kataib Hezbollah was notorious for its successes in injuring American forces with roadside improvised explosive devices, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.counterextremism.com\/threat\/kata%E2%80%99ib-hezbollah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Counter Extremism Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In early March, the group promised to protect Iran via &ldquo;severe attacks&rdquo; on American interests in the region, threatening attacks on &ldquo;economic interests, companies, tools of influence and military camps in Iraq and the region&rdquo; which would &ldquo;turn into rubble beyond their calculations.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>However, it&rsquo;s unclear what role the group has played, if any, in the current conflict beyond the kidnapping of Kittleson.<\/p>\n<p>A man who identified himself as Kittleson&rsquo;s &ldquo;designated U.S. point of contact&rdquo; &mdash; Alex Plitsas of the Atlantic Council &mdash; said American officials &ldquo;acted immediately&rdquo; and were &ldquo;working very hard across multiple agencies and departments&rdquo; to secure her return.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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Al-Monitor issued a statement saying they were deeply alarmed and called for her safe, immediate release, reaffirming her important regional reporting. The Washington Post, however, reported that she was not on assignment for Al-Monitor at the time. Kittleson is based in Rome and also contributes to the BBC, Foreign Policy, and Politico.<br \/>\n&#8211; Iraqi security officials told the AP that two vehicles were involved; one crashed during a pursuit near Al-Haswa, south of Baghdad, and Kittleson was then transferred to the second vehicle.<br \/>\n&#8211; U.S. officials said that Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia, was responsible for the kidnapping. The group is part of Iran\u2019s broader \u201cAxis of Resistance.\u201d While the axis has deteriorated in recent years, it is unclear what role the group currently plays beyond the kidnapping.<br \/>\n&#8211; A U.S. official stated that American authorities acted quickly to secure her return and were coordinating across multiple agencies. Alex Plitsas of the Atlantic Council-who identified himself as Kittleson\u2019s designated U.S. point of contact-said U.S. officials were pursuing her release across agencies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2586178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/US-journalist-kidnapped.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[6794,53559,6039],"class_list":["post-2586177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-journalist","tag-kidnapping-2","tag-terrorism"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/US-journalist-kidnapped.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2586177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2586177"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2586177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2586181,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2586177\/revisions\/2586181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2586178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2586177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2586177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2586177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}