Iranian-backed militia in Iraq says U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson being released week after abduction

An Iranian-backed militia in Iraq announced Tuesday that American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was abducted on a Baghdad street a week ago, was being released on the condition that she leave Iraq immediately.

Iraq's Interior Ministry announced last week that a foreign journalist was kidnapped by "unknown individuals," and two sources told CBS News it was Kittleson who was taken. The ministry said Iraqi security forces had managed to arrest one suspect and seize a vehicle used in the abduction.

Alex Plitsas, Kittleson's designated point of contact in the U.S. and a CNN national security analyst, confirmed to CBS News that Kittleson was kidnapped, and he said the U.S. government had warned her about a specific threat by the Iranian-backed paramilitary group Kata'ib Hezbollah, which was allegedly looking to kidnap or kill female journalists. 

It was Kata'ib Hezbollah that announced her release in a post on its Telegram messaging app channel on Tuesday. 

Her whereabouts were not immediately clear.

Plitsas said Kittleson had been advised that her name was on a list in Kata'ib Hezbollah's possession, and a second source confirmed that she had been told of a risk but that she thought it was likely false information. 

Kittleson was contacted multiple times with warnings of threats against her, including as recently as the night before she was abducted, a U.S. official told CBS News.