American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped in Baghdad last week, has been released. That's according to an Iraqi official with direct knowledge of the situation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday because he was not authorized to comment publicly. He says Kittleson was freed in the afternoon. He did not share her current whereabouts but said that prior to her release, she had been held in Baghdad. The powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement earlier in the day that it had decided to free the journalist.
On March 17, 1992, white South Africans voted 68.7% to 31.3% to end over 40 years of apartheid in a national referendum. (Voters of all races were allowed to vote two years later in the general election that resulted in Nelson Mandela becoming president.)
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA STELLA MARTANY and RASHID YAHYA Associated Press
Kurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq are preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran, and the U.S. has asked Iraqi Kurds to support them, Kurdish officials have told The Associated Press. Kurdish party leaders have also discussed the Iran crisis with President Donald Trump, according to Iraqi Kurdish officials. One official says Trump has asked them to open the border and back the groups militarily. Iraqi Kurdish leaders fear Iranian retaliation. Recent drone and missile strikes have already hit the region, damaging homes, and disrupting electricity. Iraq also reinforces the border and the Iraqi government has vowed to stop infiltrations.
By SALAR SALIM and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press
A Kurdish militant group has announced plans to start disarming as part of a peace process with Turkey. The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, says its fighters in northern Iraq will begin handing over their weapons next week in a ceremony in Iraq's Kurdish region. The number of fighters who will take part has not yet been determined but might be between 20 and 30. This marks the first concrete step toward disarmament after decades of conflict. The PKK announced in May it would disband and renounce armed conflict after the group's leader, Abdullah Öcalan, called for an end to the fighting.
