AL-MONITOR calls for release of contributor Shelly Kittleson
Al-Monitor1 day
The U.S. is aware of the kidnapping of one of its citizens in Iraq. While the State Department had fulfilled its duty to warn this individual of the threats against them, it will continue to work with the FBI to secure their release as soon as possible. Iraq remains under a Level 4 Travel Advisory and U.S. citizens should not travel to the country. Those there, including journalists, should leave immediately.
This tragic case is reminiscent of Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian researcher who was kidnapped in Baghdad in 2023. After being taken by the same Kataib Hezbollah group for over two years, she was freed last year after U.S. officials negotiated her release.
There's a 60% chance that the U.S. will conduct a ground invasion of Iran before May 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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