U.S. offers up to $3 million for info on attacks in Iraq

The U.S. State Department’s Rewards for Justice program says it is offering up to $3 million for any information on attacks against U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq.

“U.S. Embassy Baghdad, U.S. Consulate General Erbil, and the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center have been the targets of repeated attacks,” the Rewards for Justice program said on X. “If you have information on these attacks, send us your tip.”

The offer came shortly before the U.S. embassy in Baghdad warned that Iraqi militia groups aligned with Iran could “intend to conduct attacks in central Baghdad in the next 24-48 hours.”

That warning, posted on X around 3 a.m. ET Thursday, urged Americans to leave Iraq, saying terrorist militias have targeted Americans for kidnapping.

American journalist Shelly Kittleson was kidnapped in Baghdad on Tuesday, according to two sources familiar with the matter as well as an Iraqi official. Alex Plitsas, Kittleson’s designated point of contact in the U.S. and a CNN national security analyst, said the U.S. government had warned Kittleson about a specific threat against her by the Iranian-backed paramilitary group Kata’ib Hezbollah, which was allegedly looking to kidnap or kill female journalists.

Dylan Johnson, an assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, said in a post on X that a person taken into custody by Iraqi authorities in connection with Kittleson’s abduction had ties to Kata’ib Hezbollah.