Baghdad (Iraq), 1 April (LaPresse/AP) – US and Iraqi officials have reported that the US journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped yesterday in Baghdad, had been warned of threats against her several days ago. Prior to Kittleson’s abduction, the Iraqis had contacted US officials to alert them to a specific threat of abduction against the journalist by militias affiliated with Iran. Dylan Johnson, US Under Secretary of State for Public Affairs, wrote in a post on social media platform X that “the State Department had previously fulfilled its duty to warn this individual of the threats against her”. A US official stated: “She was contacted several times with warnings about the threats against her”, including the night before the kidnapping. It is believed that Kittleson was kidnapped by Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi militia linked to Iran that has been implicated in previous kidnappings of foreigners.