American journalist released a week after being kidnapped in Iraq

Freelancer Shelly Kittleson was reportedly held by Iran-backed militia which says she must now leave country

The US journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped from a Baghdad street corner last week, has been released, according to an Iraqi official with direct knowledge of the situation.

Kittleson was freed in the afternoon, said the official, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly. He did not share her current whereabouts but said that before her release, she had been held in Baghdad.