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Samantha Lewthwaite, (born 1983)[2] also known as Sherafiyah Lewthwaite or the White Widow, is the widow of Germaine Lindsay, one of the suicide-bombers of the 7 July 2005 London bombings.[3]
She an alleged member of the Somali radical Islamic militant group, Al-Shabaab.[1]
She has been accused of orchestrating grenade attacks at worship centers of religions other than Islam.[1]
She is believed to be behind an attack on those watching soccer in a bar in Mombasa during Euro 2012. In September 2013, the Kenyan government said there was a strong possibility of her being involved in the Nairobi mall attack.[4]
Background[edit]
Lewthwaite is the daughter of a British Army soldier, and reportedly hails from Banbridge, County Down.[1] She grew up in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.[5] She converted to Islam during her teens when her parents were in the midst of a divorce. Upset at her parents split, she spent time with Muslim neighbours and reportedly found comfort in their conservative family life.[5]
She met Germaine Lindsay through an internet chat-room and married him. Three years later, on 7 July 2005, Lindsay blew himself up on a train travelling between King's Cross and Russell Square tube stations, at 8:50 a.m. He killed 26 innocent civilians in his suicide attack. Lewthwaite was pregnant with their second child at the time of his death. Their first child, a son, was reportedly 2 years old at the time.[3] At the time, Lewthwaite denied prior knowledge of the attacks. She publicly denounced her husband for the attacks, and was granted police protection.
Lewthwaite is subsequently believed to have met and married Habib Ghani.[5] She gave birth to a third child in August 2009. She moved to the north of England, and then later disappeared with her children.[3]
Allegations of role in Islamic terror[edit]
It was reported in February 2012 that a woman using a number of identities including Lewthwaite's was being sought by Kenyan police, after the discovery of a fake South African passport apparently with her photograph in a house linked to terrorist activity in the country.[6] In April 2012 it was confirmed that the suspect was now believed to be Lewthwaite herself, who is thought to have crossed the border from Kenya into Tanzania with her three young children on Boxing Day 2011.[7]
Lewthwaite has since appeared as a spokeswoman for al Shabaab, in attempts to recruit fighters for the Somali terror group. Earlier in 2013, it emerged that she was wanted by the Kenya police in a foiled plot to blow up Western tourist targets in that country. In August 2013, she was named as one of the suspects involved in a grenade attack on a bar in Mombasa during a Euro 2012 soccer match between England and Italy. A young boy was among the three innocent civilians killed in that attack.[5]
Lewthwaite was named as a possible suspect involved in a September 2013 attack claimed by al Shabaab on a Nairobi mall.[1]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha_Lewthwaite | 
