Nairobi mall attack: Who is the 'white widow' and is she involved?

The ‘white widow’ has been frequently named in news reports on the Nairobi mall attack, amidst reports of UK and US citizens being among the attackers who stormed the building. Although there is no official evidence that the ‘white widow’, Samantha Lewthwaite - so named because she is the widow of London’s July 7 bomber - is actually among the attackers, eyewitness and Kenyan government reports that there was a white woman among the terrorists have fueled these claims. A CNN report quoted State House spokesman Manoah Esipisu as saying that there were reports of a white woman among the hostage takers. Kenyan intelligence officials were investigating the claims, he said. According to the report: [caption id=“attachment_1130023” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] Esipisu was asked if the reported woman was thought to be the infamous Al-Shabaab-affiliated “White Widow,” Samantha Lewthwaite. “Nothing is being ruled out,” he said. But CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen said it was unlikely. “It would be very unusual for a woman to be involved in one of these operations,” he said. “Typically these groups are misogynist. Their view is the woman should be in a home and shrouded in a body veil.” This report by the BBC also mentioned that Lewthwaite had been named, but like CNN, cast doubts on the claim. “Media reports suggest Ms Lewthwaite, the widow of 7 July bomber Jermaine Lindsay, was involved in the attack but the Foreign Office says it has no evidence and is unwilling to speculate”, the report said. Kenya’s foreign minister Amina Mohamed has also been quoted as saying that “two or three Americans” and “one Brit” were among the attackers although she did not mention whether the ‘Brit’ suspect was a man or woman. But who is the ‘white widow’ and why would she be a suspect? Here are some quick facts about her: * A Muslim convert, Samantha Lewthwaite had been dubbed the “white widow” because of her marriage to Jermaine Lindsay, who blew up an underground train at King’s Cross in London in 2005, killing 26 people, says the Belfast Telegraph. She had initially denied any knowledge of the attack and even condemned Lindsay’s actions, but fled the country shortly after. * The Belfast Telegraph report adds that after Lindsay’s death, Lewthwaite married another jihadist while on the run in Africa where she became a leader of the al-Shabaab, which has claimed responsibility for the Westgate attack. “Lewthwaite later arranged the assassination of a terror rival in an attack that also claimed the life of her second husband, Habib Ghani. She did not even acknowledge the fact he had been murdered,” the report adds. * She has been charged by the Kenyans in her absence of being part of a terror cell, which allegedly involved other Britons, that planned attacks in the country in 2011, says The Telegraph newspaper. * She is the 29-year-old daughter of a soldier and was born in Ireland, says the New York Times, adding that she is now in hiding with her three children. * Lewthwaite has even been involved in training a group of all-female suicide attackers at camps in lawless neighbouring Somalia, says the Daily Mail, which carries a detailed profile of her. The Daily Mail profile adds that Lewthwaite is one of Al Qaeda’s main recruiters in East Africa and is an official spokesman for Al Shabaab. “Her fearless reputation within Africa’s growing Islamic terror network has been strengthened by her own involvement as a mujahid – or warrior – during a series of bombings and shootings in Kenya’s tourist areas,” the profile adds. * Aboud Rogo Mohammed and Sheikh Abubaker Shariff Ahmed, who the US claim are the chief “radicalisers and recruiters” in Mombasa for Somalia’s Islamist army ‘al-Shabaab’, have been funded through Lewthwaite, sources told The Telegraph. But the outfit denied any links with her. “That is ridiculous,” Sheikh Abubaker told the daily_. “_I have never met this Samantha, I have never heard of her apart from in the newspapers." * Lewthwaite has also been accused of being the chief financier of al Qaeda in East Africa. According to this report in The Telegraph, her alleged links to plot attacks at Eton College and the Ritz Hotel in London resulted in Western embassies briefly barring their citizens from visiting Kenya, resulting in very high security at hotels and malls.