Journalist Shelly Kittleson, who grew up in Darlington, Wisconsin, is now free after being kidnapped by the Iraqi militia group Kata’ib Hizballah on March 31.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed reports of her release late Tuesday evening. In a post on X, Rubio said the State Department is now working to support Kittleson's safe departure from Iraq.
The news brings relief to those who know her, including photojournalist Osama Al Maqdoni, who has known Kittleson since 2018.
"I’m very excited, I can’t imagine about this, but I’ll tell her one thing, be a journalist," Al Maqdoni said.
Al Maqdoni worked with Kittleson on stories and assisted her as a local in Iraq, eventually becoming friends.
Kittleson had been working in the Middle East for two decades, covering communities across Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
Watch: Wisconsin journalist Shelly Kittleson is freed after being kidnapped by an Iraqi militia group in March
"She’s alone, she’s an independent woman, she doesn’t have a team like a producer, a fixer, a translator, so sometimes I’d help her as a friend to support her. We did many report," Al Maqdoni said.
The news of her kidnapping hit Al Maqdoni hard.
"I didn’t sleep for three days, really, I’m serious, I didn’t sleep for three days, I was busy to follow any news to get some information from my sources as a local journalist," Al Maqdoni said.
It has been an exciting last 24 hours after a very long last seven days for Al Maqdoni.
"I’m happy (she) to be free, I was very happy, and to now I can’t sleep, and I’ll share all the photos and the news about her," Al Maqdoni said.
Al Maqdoni noted that the job of a journalist is dangerous, especially in the Middle East, but it is important to bring people the truth.
"I think she’s like a victim, because she’s a journalist, she’s not a security staff or a diplomatic staff… she’s just covering the news and translate the truth on what’s going to happen in the Middle East," Al Maqdoni said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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