"Security video verified by ABC News and confirmed by Iraq's interior ministry captured the moment Kittleson was kidnapped while standing on a sidewalk. The footage showed a silver car approach Kittleson as several people grabbed her and forced her into the vehicle before it sped away.
A second car allegedly involved in the abduction crashed as it tried to flee and one occupant was arrested by Iraqi security forces, according to Dylan Johnson, U.S. assistant secretary of state for global public affairs.
The suspect under arrest has ties to the Iranian-aligned militia group Kataib Hezbollah, Johnson said in a statement Tuesday.
As the search for Kittleson continued on Thursday, U.S. officials issued a new warning to Americans still in Iraq, advising them to leave the country immediately as Iraqi terrorist militia groups aligned with Iran may "intend to conduct attacks" in central Baghdad."