The mother of an freelance American journalist who was released from captivity in Iraq says she hopes her daughter will finally return home to rural Wisconsin after living abroad for decades.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has confirmed that American journalist Shelley Kittleson, who was kidnapped last week in Iraq, has been released.

The American freelance journalist who was kidnapped Tuesday in Iraq has been described by friends and colleagues as a determined, gutsy reporter.

Iraqi officials say an American journalist was kidnapped in Baghdad and security forces are pursuing her captors.