Has British 'White Widow' been killed in final assault on Kenyan shopping mall? Body of white woman terrorist is found at scene

Samantha Lewthwaite - widow of 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay - wanted by Kenyan police on terror charges

Officials said three Islamist extremists had died during attempts to free their hostages from the Nairobi mall

One said to be a white woman - adding weight to theory that Lewthwaite was behind attack that has killed 62

Downing Street said at least six of the dead are British and warned there was 'potential for further bad news'

Three US citizens part of the group that attacked the mall, according to Kenya's foreign minister Amina Mohamed


'White widow' Samantha Lewthwaite may have been killed during the Nairobi siege.

As attempts to flush the remaining militants out of a Kenyan shopping centre continued, officials said three Islamist extremists had died during attempts to free their hostages.

Insiders said one was a white woman – adding weight to the theory that Lewthwaite, the fugitive widow of 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, was behind the attack that has left 62 dead and 170 injured.



Part of the group that carried out the attack on the mall was formed by US citizens, according to Kenya's foreign minister Amina Mohamed.

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'White widow': Weight has been added to the theory that Samantha Lewthwaite, the fugitive widow of 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, was behind the attack

A dead white woman has been found among Islamic terrorists killed by soldiers as they stormed the mall where 62 shoppers were slaughtered this weekend, Kenyan officials said. It will fuel speculation the dead woman is Samantha Lewthwaite (left and right), widow of 7/7 bomber Jermaine Lindsay, wanted on terror charges



Police will also investigate the possibility that she is a hostage dressed in one of the terrorist's clothes. Asked if it was Lewthwaite, dubbed the 'White Widow', an intelligence officer said: 'We don't know'

Lewthwaite, 29, was married to Jermaine Lindsay, the suicide bomber who blew up a Tube train at King?s Cross in 2005 Operation: Kenyan soldiers take cover after heavy gunfire near the Westgate mall in Nairobi. Defence troops remain inside the mall, in a standoff with Somali militants U.S. officials said they were looking into whether any Americans were involved. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Monday the department had 'no definitive evidence of the nationalities or the identities' of the attackers. Downing Street said at least six of the dead are British and warned there was ‘potential for further bad news’. THE 'WHITE WIDOW' OF A COLD BLOODED KILLER

Samantha Lewthwaite converted to Islam as a young woman and married a man who went on to be a 7/7 London suicide bomber. She has become a key figure in the terror group behind this weekend’s attack.

Lewthwaite has even been involved in training a group of all-female suicide attackers at camps in lawless neighbouring the 29-year-old, who grew up as a normal teenager in Aylesbury before meeting Jermaine Lindsay, a British Muslim, in an online chat room when she was 17. The pair married three years later. When her husband was named as one of four suicide bombers who blew up Tube trains and a bus in 2005, killing 52 people, Lewthwaite initially condemned her late husband’s attack and denied any knowledge of his plan. This was a lie. More than eight years later, Lewthwaite is one of Al Qaeda’s main recruiters in East Africa and is an official spokesman for Al Shabaab (The People), the terrorist group behind the horror in Nairobi. The so-called ‘White Widow’, who is the world’s most wanted woman, has been on the run in East Africa after police foiled a Christmas bomb plot against Western tourists in the coastal resort of Mombasa in 2011.

A report from the Reuters news agency said three sources – one intelligence officer and two soldiers – had confirmed that a white woman was among the fallen terrorists. Police are exploring whether she could be a hostage dressed in one of the terrorist’s clothes, but the Foreign Office is also examining Muslim convert Lewthwaite’s links to the massacre. The 29-year-old mother of four, from the Home Counties, is now a leading figure in Al Shabaab – the terror group that has claimed responsibility for the killings in the Israeli-owned Westgate shopping centre. Police believe she is the one of the group’s main financiers and bomb-making tutors. However, sources admit they still do not know the full extent of her involvement in the attack in Nairobi. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Terror raid 'led by white widow': Gang mastermind in veil... 'If they found me, I'm white... so I'm dead': Survivors... The Twitter terrorists: How killers boasted of Kenyan mall... Shouts, screams... and then a sprint for their lives: Raw... Adults who came under fire in Kenyan mall massacre acted... First picture of nine-year-old British girl who died in... Share this article Share Nevertheless, a senior Kenyan anti-terror officer yesterday claimed: ‘We believe she was commanding the operation but her fate is not yet known. It is understood she was a sniper also.’ The Mail revealed yesterday that soldiers say they saw a white woman in a veil shouting orders to gunmen in Arabic, while a Twitter account purporting to represent Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the atrocity and praised Lewthwaite, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, as ‘a brave lady’. Despite this, Kenya’s interior minister Joseph Ole Lenku said that all of the terrorists were men, with some dressed as women. Lewthwaite has been on the run in East Africa since police foiled her plot to blow up a shopping centre in another Kenyan city, Mombasa, two years go. Her London-born accomplice, Jermaine Grant, was due to stand trial yesterday, but his hearing was delayed so that terror officers preparing to give evidence could instead be diverted to Nairobi, to assist officials there. Paramedics run beside parked ambulances outside the Westgate Mall in Nairobi after heavy shooting started for the third time since this morning A police helicopter hovers next to a plume of rising black smoke from the shopping mall as an assault team was continuing with a rescue operation at the Westgate shopping mall, where the hostage situation continues People take cover after hearing gun shots near the centre. The start of the final assault was heralded by a series of loud blasts and a barrage of gunfire as a pall of thick black smoke began to rise over the mall

The Westgate Shopping Centre is on fire and a fierce gun battle is underway as Kenyan special forces try to end the three day siege that has killed at least 62 people

Witnesses have reported hearing rapid gun fire at the shopping mall and Kenyan soldiers have been seen moving towards Westgate

They joined two British Special Forces advisers and several MI6 agents based in East Africa, who are assisting local authorities in the huge security operation. Kenyan troops and police have, however, entered the shopping centre without help from outside forces.

The monitoring of communications by members of the Somali-based Al Shabaab in and around the shopping centre are said to ‘indicate’ two of the killers spoke with ‘UK accents’.

This would support information posted on Twitter, which suggested the terror cell was 15-strong, containing two Londoners.

A paramedic runs for cover outside the mall in Nairobi after a large explosion was followed by sustained shooting

Security forces say they have evacuated almost all the hostages from the shopping centre, which was on fire earlier on Monday

A Kenyan minister claimed the heavy black smoke billowing from the shopping mall on Monday was caused by burned mattresses



The area around the mall was teeming with Kenyan soldiers and armoured personnel carriers, as emergency workers and reporters were told to take cover

Kenyan police said they have rescued some hostages after storming the mall and said they are 'increasingly gaining advantage [over] the attackers'

Police officers take cover following a string of explosions and fierce gun fire on Monday - the third day of the siege Lewthwaite, whose family say they have not spoken to her in years, was seven months pregnant when Lindsay blew himself up on a Tube train in 2005, killing 26. She is known to her followers as ‘Dada Mzungu’ – Swahilli for white sister – and has occasionally taken to Twitter to rail against the ‘infidels of the West’. She is understood to have avoided arrest so far by wearing a full-face veil while flitting between Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania.

Militants inside Westgate Shopping Centre have threatened to kill the remaining hostages as Kenyan security personnel try to end the siege (pictured)

Kenya Security personnel take cover outside the Westgate Mall. Islamist terror group Al Shabaab claimed it carried out the atrocity in which four Britons were killed and 175 people were left injured Kenyan military said last night that 'most' of the hostages have been freed but a spokesman admitted today that the situation is still not clear Militants inside the shopping centre said hostages would 'bear the brunt' of any action by the Kenyan military

'WE ONLY WANT TO KILL KENYANS AND AMERICANS': EXTRAORDINARY ESCAPE OF FRENCH FAMILY A French woman said she was freed by the Islamic terrorists because they told her they only wanted to kill Kenyans and Americans. The woman, who only gave her name as Pauline, said she escaped with her two young children, who were given Mars bars by the gunmen. Pauline said she was asked for forgiveness by the terrorists who told her 'we are not monsters'. The mother of two, who was in the supermarket when the attack began, said once she agreed Muslims were not 'bad people' they gave her children, Emily, 6, and Eliot, 4, chocolate. She told The Independent: 'He said we only only want to kill Kenyans and Americans. He then told me I had to change my religion to Islam and said "do you forgive us? do you forgive us?' She said she was able to escape with another two children, including a wounded 12-year-old boy whose mother had been murdered. Fleeing: A child runs to safety across the shopping mall following the deadly attack in Nairobi, Kenya. Four Britons have been killed in the attack Terror: Armed police guide a woman carrying a child to safety at Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi

Desperation: A crowd of people hold their arms out to catch a Kenyan woman as she jumps out from the air vent where she had been hiding from the gunmen Moving quickly: An image grab taken from AFP TV shows civilians taking cover following an attack by masked gunmen in a shopping mall in Nairobi 62 DEAD AND 175 INJURED FROM 14 NATIONS: DETAILS OF KENYA TERRORIST ATTACK VICTIMS BEGIN TO EMERGE

Canadian diplomat Annemarie Desloges was among the 68 people known to have died in the attack. Her husband Robert Munk was injured KENYA

President Uhuru Kenyatta's nephew Mbugua Mwangi and his nephew's fiancee Rosemary Wahito were killed.

Radio and TV personality Ruhila Adatia-Sood, was also killed after hosting a cookery competition at the mall. Reports said she was recently married and six months pregnant.

GHANA

Kofi Awoonor, a Ghanaian poet, professor and former ambassador to Brazil, Cuba and the United Nations, died after being wounded in the attack, Ghana's presidential office confirmed.

Ghana's ministry of information said Awoonor's son was injured and is responding to treatment. CANADA

Two Canadians, including a diplomat, died in the attack, according to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

He paid tribute to the victims and noted the loss of diplomat Annemarie Desloges, who served in Canada's High Commission to Kenya as a liaison officer with the Canada Border Services Agency.

Her spouse Robert Munk was wounded in the attack, but has since been released from the hospital, the Canadian Press reported. INDIA

Two Indians, 8-year-old Parmashu Jain and 40-year-old Sridhar Natarajan, were killed, and four others were wounded in the attack . BRITAIN

The Foreign Office have confirmed that four UK nationals have been killed in the attack.

Prize-winning architect Ross Langdon, who had dual British and Australian citizenship, is believed to be one of the dead.

A British man, who refused to give his name, said his wife and daughter were both killed in the atrocity.

The Foreign Office warned the number of British dead is 'likely to rise as further information becomes available.' FRANCE

Two French women were killed, President Francois Hollande said. SOUTH AFRICA

One South African citizen was killed, according to the country's International Relations Department. THE NETHERLANDS

A 33-year-old Dutch woman died in the attack, believed to be Elif Yavuz, the heavily pregnant partner of British architect Mr Langdon.

Seven other Dutch citizens who were in the mall escaped unharmed, Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said.

Ross Langdon, 33, was killed alongside his heavily pregnant Dutch partner Elif Yavuz CHINA

A 38-year-old Chinese woman with the surname Zhou who worked in the real estate industry was killed in the attack, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. Her son was injured in the attack and was in stable condition in a hospital, according to the Chinese Embassy in Kenya. PERU

A retired staff member of UNICEF from Peru was killed, the agency's regional office for Eastern and Southern Africa said.

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine confirmed today that Dr Juan Jesus Ortiz-Iruri, 63, who had worked in Britain, was among the dead. Colleague Professor Nynke van den Broek said: 'He had dedicated his professional life to improving health systems in Africa and Asia, particularly in the area of maternal, child and new-born health. Juan had worked with us on a range of maternal and new-born health programmes for some time from his base in Nairobi and we were all looking forward to welcoming him as a full time member of staff in Liverpool later this week. His loss will be felt by us all both professionally and personally.'

U.S.

Five American citizens were injured, U.S. officials said. NEW ZEALAND

Andrew McLaren, 34, a New Zealander who managed a factory in Kenya for the avocado oil company Olivado, was wounded in the attack, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed. He was hospitalised in stable condition. SWITZERLAND

The Swiss government confirmed that one of its citizens was injured in the attack. It said its embassy in Nairobi is in contact with the victim's family and local officials, but would not provide further detail on the victim's name.

Tense: Kenyan paramilitary officers walk towards a small shopping arcade adjacent to the Westgate shopping mall where the fate of the hostages remained unclear on Monday morning

Tense: Soldiers from the Kenya Defense Forces walk out of the mall, following the sound of explosions and gunfire

Distressing: A woman holds a baby sitting with other injured people who are crying for help after gunmen went on a shooting spree in the Westgate shopping centre

Shock: A soldier directs people up stairs inside the Westgate shopping mall. Some fled and sought refuge in shops, bank vaults and store rooms as grenades exploded and bullets fired around them



Siege: People look at the Westgate shopping mall in the distance where hostages were held for three days

Escape: Women carrying children run for safety after al Shabaab terrorists stormed Westgate shopping center in Nairobi, Kenya armed with guns and grenades

Scramble: People crawl on their stomachs to safety as security forces keep a lookout at the Nairobi mall on Saturday

Wounded: A Kenyan policeman sits clutching his stomach alongside his rifle while a colleague exchanges fire with the terrorists

Scared: Clearly distressed, this family join hands as they make their way out of the building. Bullet wounds can be seen in the glass behind them

Cat and mouse: A security officer points out the location of where some of the terrorists may be hiding to his colleagues, all three of whom have their pistols at the ready

Protection: A mother and her children lie on the floor as they attempt to hide while the gunmen armed with automatic weapons go on the rampage

Terrified: A young girl in tears is led away form the terror by a police officer



Children: A soldier carries one of the survivors to safety as armed police hunt for the gunmen

Rescue: A policeman carries a baby to safety on the barrel of his gun while a woman ducks for safety behind him

Rescue: A woman is shipped to an ambulance in a shopping trolley by centre staff