Samantha Lewthwaite: Is 'White Widow' behind Kenya mall attack?

Samantha Lewthwaite is a British mom who is suspected by some Kenyan officials to be behind the Nairobi mall attack. British media call Samantha Lewthwaite the "White Widow,' the wife of a deceased London suicide bomber.

By David Clark Scott,?Staff writer / September 23, 2013

The Sun, in London, in Sept. 23, 2005 carries on its front page a story and photo of Samantha Lewthwaite, wife of suspected London suicide bomber Jermaine Linsday. Lewthwaite holds her daughter Ruqayyah, her second child by Jermain Linsday.

(AP Photo/Andrew Stuart)

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Samantha Lewthwaite, a British mother of two (or three), has been a fugitive since 2005. There are now British media reports that the so-called 'White Widow' has resurfaced in the Nairobi mall under attack.

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David Clark Scott leads a small team at CSMonitor.com that?s part Skunkworks, part tech-training, part journalism.

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A Kenyan government spokesperson said that some of those rescued from the mall had sighted a "white woman" among the hostage-takers. When asked if the woman was Lewthwaite,? replied ?Nothing is being ruled out.?

The London daily, The Mirror, reported that Al Shabab had praised the "White Widow" on their Twitter account and boasted that she was with them.

On a site that has been repeatedly closed down, they wrote: ?Sherafiyah lewthwaite aka samantha is a vrave (sic) lady! were happier to have her in our ranks!? In another posting they warned: ?This is no more than a drill for a bigger event!?

"I suspect this woman Lewthwaite is behind this attack,? a senior anti-terror source told the Daily Mail, as survivors described how a woman in a veil appeared to be commanding the other terrorists as they hunted down and killed non-Muslim shoppers.

Who is Samantha Lewthwaite?

She is the wife of Germaine Lindsay, a man who blew himself up on July 7, 2005, at London's King?s Cross subway station killing 26 people. At the time, Lewthwaite, denied having any prior knowledge of the attack. Shortly thereafter, she became a fugitive.

Lewthwaite, the 29-year-old daughter of a soldier, hails from Banbridge, County Down, Ireland. She converted to Islam as a teenager, and according to British rmedia reports, has three children with whom she has been on the run.

In December of 2011, Kenyan police raided a two-room apartment in Mombasa, Kenya. They found chemicals similar to those used in the July 7, 2005 bombing in London. Lewthwaite was identified as the person who rented the apartment but she wasn't captured.

However, Jermaine Grant, who is British, was captured at the Mombasa apartment. He faces charges of conspiring to explode devices to hurt civilians,?according to Kenyan police. Grant told police that he was working for Lewthwaite. She faces the same charges as Grant and another man later arrested trying to flee the country.

In March, the London Daily Telegraph reported that Lewthwaite and Fouad Manswab were plotting to free Grant, who's trial was set to begin Sept. 23 (today) in Mombasa. "We know that Fouad is in touch with Samantha Lewthwaite, and they were planning to rescue their accomplice," said Jacob Ondari, the deputy public prosecutor, at the time.

In media reports, Lewthwaite has been variously described as a financier, recruiter, and trainer for al Qaeda, and the creator of an all-women jihadist squad in Africa. She has been accused of orchestrating grenade attacks at worship centers of 'unbelievers of Islam' and believed to be behind an attack on those watching soccer in a bar in Mombasa during Euro 2012. Three people died in that attack. One eyewitness of the latter incident identified her from pictures of the incident.

And the nickname "White Widow"? The British media are playing off the term "black widow," which has been used by Chechen terrorists to describe women who take part in bombings and assaults after the death of their husbands. Some al Shebab postings have described? Lewthwaite as the "White Sister."

Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/terrorism-security/2013/0923/Samantha-Lewthwaite-Is-White-Widow-behind-Kenya-mall-attack

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