Interpol issues arrest notice for 'white widow' Samantha Lewthwaite after Kenya shopping mall attack

GlobalPost

Interpol said Thursday it had issued an arrest notice for Samantha Lewthwaite, dubbed the "white widow," at the request of Kenya following four-day siege at a Nairobi shopping mall that left at least 72 dead.

The agency issued a Red Notice, which is an internationally wanted persons alert, for the 29-year-old British woman who is wanted by Kenyan police in connection with a separate terror plot.

"By requesting an Interpol Red Notice, Kenya has activated a global ‘tripwire’ for this fugitive," Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said in a statement.

"Through the Interpol Red Notice, Kenyan authorities have ensured that all 190 member countries are aware of the danger posed by this woman, not just across the region but also worldwide."

There has been speculation that Lewthwaite, who is the widow of one of the men who carried out the suicide attacks on London’s transit system in 2005, may have been involved in the Westgate shopping mall attack.

Somali militant group Al Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the mass shooting, which began last Saturday when militants stormed the complex popular with wealthy Kenyans and foreigners living in the capital.

Kenyan police issued a wanted notice for Lewthwaite in late 2011, in which they accused her of traveling on a fake South African passport.

South African Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor said Thursday that Lewthwaite had obtained the passport using the alias Natalie Faye Webb. The document was last used in February 2011. Authorities cancelled the passport that year.


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