Shelly Kittleson: What we know about the kidnapping of US journalist in Iraq

A US journalist has been kidnapped in Iraq.

The kidnapping occurred in Baghdad on Tuesday, according to Iraqi officials, who said efforts were now underway to locate the reporter and the perpetrators.

The journalist has been named as freelancer Shelly Kittleson by one of the publications she worked for.

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Here is everything we know about the incident so far.

What happened?

The kidnapping took place on 31 March on Saadoun Street in central Baghdad, before the perpetrators headed southwest towards Babil province.

Iraqi security officials said two cars had been involved.

An alert was subsequently circulated to all checkpoints, leading to a pursuit during which one of the vehicles reportedly crashed near the town of Al-Haswa.

The other car, carrying Ms Kittleson, fled the scene.

Following the incident, Iraq's ministry said one suspect had been arrested and efforts were now underway to locate Ms Kittleson and the kidnappers.

It said security forces had launched an operation "acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations".

It is not immediately clear if the kidnapping is related to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Who is Shelly Kittleson?

According to her X profile, Ms Kittleson is an award-winning journalist of more than 15 years, reporting on the Middle East and contributing to outlets such as Politico, Foreign Policy magazine and the BBC World Service.

One of the outlets she contributed to, Al-Monitor, released a statement on Tuesday saying they were "deeply alarmed by the kidnapping".

In a short statement, the publication said: "We stand by her vital reporting from the region and call for her swift return to continue her important work."

It went on to call for her "safe and immediate release".

What has the US said?

In a statement, the US state department said it was aware of the incident and insisted "the Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans".

It added that "due to privacy and other considerations, we have nothing further to share at this time".

Assistant secretary Dylan Johnson wrote on social media that the state department had previously warned "this individual of threats against them" and said it would "continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible".

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Johnson, who blamed the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah for the kidnapping, added: "Iraq remains at a Level 4 Travel Advisory and Americans are advised not to travel to Iraq for any reason and to leave Iraq now."Al-Monitor, a US news company covering the Middle East that Ms Kittleson contributed to, said it was "deeply alarmed by the kidnapping" and

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