'White Widow' Reportedly Smeared Blood On Her Face To Escape Authorities In Nairobi Attack
Samantha Lewthewaite was the wife of suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay, a man who blew himself up on July 7, 2005, at London's King's Cross subway station killing 26 people. Initially, she denounced her husband's attack, only later to flee the country with investigators on her trail.
Immediately following the attack, security personnel speculated if Samantha Lewthewaite was involved, as she had been previously suspected of defecting to and becoming a leader in Somalian militant group al-Shabab, which took credit for the attack. Within days, Interpol had issued a warrant for her arrest.
Now, security sources tell The Belfast Telegraph that Lewthewaite was indeed at the mall, and allegedly smeared her face in blood in order to fool authorities and make her escape.
"Witness accounts reveal a woman closely resembling the 29-year-old mother of three was seen being led away among panicked survivors, her face and upper clothes splashed with blood," writes Jim Cusack of the Telegraph.
Further, it appears early reports that the militants may have rented a shop in the mall could be true. Reports are that Lewthewaite herself may have been the face of the shop operation.
(Lewthewaite) hung up newspapers around the shop unit to conceal what was going on inside, pretending to be stocking up on goods.
Staff have told police in Nairobi they helped a woman fitting the description of Samantha Lewthwaite [sic] lift boxes into the shop unit.
A rented shop gave them access to service elevators, reports the BBC. That access allowed them to stockpile weapons in a secure jump off point. With their own base of operations, terrorists would find it easy to reload and refit several times during the crisis.
Staging an attack of this scale highlights a bizarre evolution for Lewthewaite, who lost touch with her family after converting to Islam.
"I knew her when she was a child. She was very innocent," Raj Khan, the former mayor of Lewthewaite's hometown in England, told ABC. "Lacking confidence, shy and very easy to get on with. She was a follower not a leader."