Samantha Lewthwaite

Samantha Lewthwaite
Photo of Samantha Lewthwaite on her Interpol Wanted profile
Born
Samantha Louise Lewthwaite[1]

(1983-12-05) 5 December 1983 (age 40)
Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland
NationalityBritish
Other names
  • Asmantara
  • Sherafiyah
  • Sherafiyah Lewthwaite
  • White Widow
  • Natalie Webb
  • Asmaa Shahidah Bint-Andrews
Alma materSchool of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (no degree) [2]
OrganizationAl-Shabaab
Known forTerrorism
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2002; died 2005)​
Children4[3]

Samantha Louise Lewthwaite (/ˈluːθweɪt/; born 5 December 1983), also known as Sherafiyah Lewthwaite or the White Widow, is a British terrorist who is one of the Western world's most wanted terrorism suspects.[4][5][6][7] Lewthwaite, the widow of 7/7 London terrorist bomber Germaine Lindsay, is accused of causing the deaths of more than 400 people.[8] She is a fugitive from justice in Kenya, where she is wanted on charges of possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony and is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice requesting her arrest with a view to extradition.[1]

Lewthwaite is alleged to be a member of the Somalia-based radical Islamic militant group Al-Shabaab.[9] She is accused of orchestrating grenade attacks at non-Muslim places of worship,[9] and is believed to have been behind an attack on those watching football in a bar in Mombasa during Euro 2012.[10] In September 2013, there was speculation over her possible involvement in the Nairobi Westgate shopping mall attack,[11] although other reports cast doubt on this, or said her role had been exaggerated.[12][13][14] She was dubbed the "White Widow" by the news media, a play on words referencing her race and the death of her first husband and the practice of referring to Chechen female suicide bombers as "black widows".[15]

  1. ^ a b "Lewthwaite, Samantha Louise: Identity Particulars". Wanted List. Interpol. 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2013.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "'White Widow' Samantha Lewthwaite wanted by Interpol". CBC News. 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 16 August 2015.
  3. ^ Pflanz, Mike (17 August 2012). "Britons 'were in last stages of plot to bomb Kenya'". The Daily Telegraph. p. 15.
  4. ^ Pflanz, Mike; Laing, Aislinn; Rayner, Gordon; Whitehead, Tom (24 September 2013). "Was the 'white widow' among attackers?". The Daily Telegraph. p. 4.
  5. ^ Kirby, Terry (15 July 2005). "The 'quiet, likeable' man who was the King's Cross bomber". The Independent. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  6. ^ Hough, Andrew (29 February 2012). "Samantha Lewthwaite: 7/7 bomber widow previously a 'Home Counties' girl". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  7. ^ "Samantha Lewthwaite: shy schoolgirl to terrorism suspect". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 September 2013. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  8. ^ "White Widow 'has killed 400 people' as key figure in al-Shabaab". The Daily Telegraph. 18 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Samantha Lewthwaite: Is 'White Widow' behind Kenya mall attack?". The Christian Science Monitor. 23 September 2013. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  10. ^ Maguire, Anna (15 March 2013). "Banbridge schoolgirl who became linked to radical Islam". The Belfast Telegraph. p. 3.
  11. ^ "Nairobi attack: UK woman and Americans 'among militants'". BBC News. 24 September 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  12. ^ Williams, Zoe (27 June 2014). "The radicalisation of Samantha Lewthwaite". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
  13. ^ Liston, Enjoli (25 September 2013). "Was the White Widow in Westgate mall? The evidence is scant". The Independent. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  14. ^ "Profile: Samantha Lewthwaite". BBC News. 24 September 2013. Archived from the original on 24 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  15. ^ Marsden, Sam (25 September 2013). "Quiet Home Counties girl who now tops list of terrorism suspects". The Daily Telegraph. p. 12.