Freelancer's Peril: Shelly Kittleson's Baghdad Abduction

0:00American freelance journalist Shelly Kiddelsen, a 49-year-old from Wisconsin, vanished in Baghdad on Wednesday after two men forced her into a two-a. Car at a busy intersection, all caught on surveillance footage. She built a solid career covering tough spots in Iraq, Syria, and the wider Middle East, often freelancing without big news outlets support or a steady. Paycheck, hopping share taxis into militia-controlled zones. Friends call her Gutsi and deeply committed, the type who embeds with local families instead of hotels. Embracing Islam, staying vegetarian in, meatloving areas, and lugging heavy bags everywhere because she didn't trust leaving them behind. Hours before the abduction, she brushed off a warning from US officials about a militia targeting her, telling a friend she didn't buy it and, chatting instead about her money woes with no assignments lined up. Earlier run-ins at checkpoints and borders, like getting turned back at Al Quim in early March, never stopped her drive. But now, colleagues worry her.

1:02Independent hustle has put her in real peril as searches drag on. Canada news today, powered by AI bringing you what matters. I'm Corey with The Story.