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Female US journalist kidnapped in Iraq

Local sources have said the woman's name is Shelly Kittleson.

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Shelly Kittleson
Shelly Kittleson has been named by police sources as the journalist kidnapped in Iraq . Picture: Social media

By Ella Bennett

A foreign journalist has been kidnapped in Baghdad, Iraq's interior ministry has said.

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Police sources have told Reuters news agency that the journalist is Shelly Kittleson, a US journalist who works in the region.

The ministry said one suspect had been arrested and efforts were ongoing to free her.

The journalist was reportedly taken near the Palestine Hotel on Al-Saadoun Street in central Baghdad. 

No group has claimed responsibility yet.

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Two cars were involved in the kidnapping, according to Reuters, one of which crashed while the other, carrying the journalist, fled.

The interior ministry said security forces had launched an operation to track down the kidnappers "acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations".

Iraqi authorities said: “The Ministry of Interior announces that this evening, a foreign journalist was kidnapped by unknown individuals.

“Security forces immediately launched an operation to apprehend the perpetrators, acting on precise intelligence and through intensive field operations, tracking the kidnappers’ movements.”