In a statement on Telegram, the group’s spokesperson Abu Mujahid al-Assaf said Kata’ib Hezbollah has decided to release the freelance journalist Shelly Kittleson "on the condition that she leaves the country immediately,” attributing the move to the "patriotic stances" of outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani.
The "initiative would not be repeated in the coming days, as we are in a state of war launched by the [Israeli] Zionist-American enemy against Islam, and in such circumstances, many considerations are set aside," Assaf added.
Kittleson was abducted last Tuesday on Saadoun Street in central Baghdad. Reports from Iraqi security officials, along with surveillance footage, show four men in civilian clothes kidnapping her near the Palestine Hotel, triggering a high-speed pursuit by security forces.
An eyewitness at the scene then told Rudaw that “three people surrounded her [Kittleson], and one of them grabbed her from behind.” Mohammed Abdullah added, “She kept screaming, then a second person came closer, trapping her between them. The driver then started the car and took her away. We don’t know where they took her.”