The Iraqi militia holding American journalist Shelly Kittleson has announced it will release her, a week after her abduction in Baghdad.
Kataib Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-backed group, said Kittleson must leave Iraq immediately. It announced her release through spokesman Abu Mujahid Al Assaf.
The group released a purported confession video in which Kittleson pleads for her release.
In the video, she says she received three months of training from American officers in Syria. She says she was asked by the US consulate to gather information about the pro-Iran Popular Mobilisation Forces and other militias in Iraq.
It was unclear whether Kittleson was coerced into making the statements in the video.
Kittleson, a freelance journalist, was kidnapped in Baghdad on March 31, sparking international concern and efforts to secure her release. The 49-year-old has reported extensively from conflict zones, including Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
Her abduction was widely condemned, with the US State Department working with Iraqi authorities for her release. Kataib Hezbollah, a prominent paramilitary group in Iraq, has been linked to several attacks on US targets in the region.
Iraqi officials had previously indicated that Kataib Hezbollah was responsible for Kittleson's kidnapping, and efforts to negotiate her release had been under way. The group's announcement of Kittleson's release comes as the war between the US and Iran plays out on Iraqi territory.
The circumstances surrounding her abduction and release are still unclear. Kittleson's work has taken her to some of the world's most volatile regions, and her reporting has been widely published.
