A journalist was kidnapped in Iraq on Tuesday by unknown individuals, according to Iraq’s Ministry of Interior.
The ministry identified the journalist as a foreign woman. As of Tuesday afternoon, it is not clear where the journalist is from or which news organization or organizations she works for.
The Associated Press reported, citing two Iraqi security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, that the journalist is American, which has not been independently verified by NBC News.
Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global affairs, said in a post on X that the State Department was aware of the report of the kidnapping.
“The U.S. Department of State is aware of the reported kidnapping of an American journalist in Baghdad, Iraq,” he wrote. “The State Department previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them and we will continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible.”
The Iraqi Ministry of Interior said in a statement that security forces pursued the kidnappers’ vehicle, which overturned as they fled.
“Security forces were able to arrest one of the suspects and seize one of the vehicles used in the crime,” the ministry said in a statement. “The Ministry affirms that efforts are ongoing to track down the remaining individuals involved, secure the release of the kidnapped journalist, and take all necessary legal measures against all those involved in this criminal act, in accordance with the law.”
Johnson said that Iraqi authorities had arrested someone linked to Kataib Hezbollah, a militia group aligned with Iran, for their role in the kidnapping.
“An individual with ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hizballah believed to be involved in the kidnapping has been taken into custody by Iraqi authorities,” he wrote in the post on X, using a different transliteration for the name of the group.
Elizabeth Tsurkov — a Russian-Israeli citizen — was kidnapped and held captive by Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq for more than two years before being released last September.
At the time of the release of Tsurkov, a Princeton University graduate student, Trump posted on Truth Social that she had been freed “after being tortured for many months.”
Since the United States and Israel launched a military campaign in Iran, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has been warning that terrorist militias within Iraq may attempt to kidnap Americans.
In a security alert Sunday, the embassy warned that “U.S. citizens choosing to remain in Iraq are doing so at significant risk.”
