Iraqi militia group Kataeb Hezbollah have released American hostage Shelly Kittleson after over a week in captivity, the US said late Tuesday.
The US State Department confirmed earlier media reports that Kittleson had been freed after she was kidnapped in Baghdad on 31 March.
"I am pleased to announce the release of American journalist, Shelly Kittleson, who was recently kidnapped by members of the foreign terrorist organization Kata’ib Hizballah near Baghdad, Iraq," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
"The U.S. Department of State extends its appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of War, U.S. personnel across multiple agencies, and the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council and our Iraqi partners, for their assistance in securing her release."
Kataeb Hezbollah, the group that reportedly kidnapped Kittleson, also confirmed that the hostage had been released.
"In recognition of the national stances of the outgoing prime minister, we have decided to release the American defendant Shelly Kittleson, on the condition that she leave the country immediately," Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official in the Iran-backed group, said in a brief statement.
He added that this was an exceptional gesture that would "not be repeated again in the coming days, as we are in a state of war launched by the Zionist-American enemy against Islam, and in such cases many considerations are discarded".
They also aired a video of Kittleson hours after she was freed from captivity.
In the video, Kittleson, clearly under duress, speaks to the camera in an apparent 'confession video' in what appears to be an attempt to justify the group's kidnapping of the American journalist.
Kittleson, a freelance journalist who has written for The New Arab , starts by confirming her identity and says that she speaks English, Italian and Arabic.
She then says she had contact with the Iraqi military and the Iraqi-Kurdish Peshmerga, and was allegedly trained and had communication with the US military and government.
Kittleson spoke about her recent media work in Iraq covering the US-Israeli war on Iran, criticised the Trump administration, and asked the group to free her, promising never to do anything to 'harm' the Iraqi resistance.
The details Kittleson shared on video point toward a staged 'confession' made under duress rather than an accurate description of her activities in Iraq.
Such videos have been common with hostages held by armed groups in Iraq.
Kittleson was kidnapped in Baghdad on 31 March, and reportedly taken by the group to Jurf al-Sakhar, around 40km from the Iraqi capital.
She is known to be a well-respected journalist who has spent a considerable time in the MENA region, with good ties with the communities she has worked with. The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that Kataeb Hezbollah had agreed to release her, with The New York Times later claiming that she had been freed but was still in Iraq. The New Arab could not confirm her status.
Kataeb Hezbollah, part of the Popular Mobilisation Forces militia coalition, are considered close to the Iranian government, and its bases have been targeted in US air strikes over the past months .