Iraqi authorities have arrested a member of a pro-Iran group believed to be involved in the abduction of an American journalist. 

According to a senior Iraqi security official,the reporter—identified by media advocacy groups as Shelly Kittleson—was kidnapped on the evening of Tuesday, March 31st  by “unknown individuals.” The interior ministry later disclosed that one person has now been detained in connection with the case.

Washington stated that the suspect is thought to be connected to the Kataeb Hezbollah terrorist group. The State Department confirmed that Kittleson had received repeated warnings about security threats and said it was working to secure her release as quickly as possible.

The arrested man carried identification linking him to the 45th Brigade of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), a pro-Iran faction within Iraq’s integrated army. 

Kittleson is a journalist with extensive experience in the Middle East and is usually based in Rome. Baghdad has seen a decline in kidnappings over recent years, although the city has a track record of abductions of foreign nationals. In 2023, Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov was held in Baghdad for two years before her release.