Worldwide hunt starts for ‘White Widow’

A worldwide alert has been issued for the arrest of the Northern Ireland-born woman terror suspect dubbed the “White Widow”.

The “red notice” for the arrest of Samantha Lewthwaite — who was married to one of the Jul 7 bombers — was issued by Interpol at the request of the Kenyan authorities.

It relates to charges of possessing explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony dating back to Dec 2011, and it makes no mention of the Nairobi shopping mall attack, despite intense speculation linking her to the incident.

A red notice notifies police forces around the world that an individual is wanted by an Interpol member state and requests the suspect is placed under provisional arrest pending extradition.

Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble said: “By requesting an Interpol Red Notice, Kenya has activated a global ‘tripwire’ for this fugitive.

“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.”

Lewthwaite — who is believed to use the alias “Natalie Webb” — had previously only been wanted by the Kenyans at national level for the possession of a fraudulently obtained South African passport.

The 29-year-old, who converted to Islam as a teenager, was married to Jermaine Lindsay, one of the four suicide bombers who carried out the Jul 7 attacks in London in 2005.

Initially she said she was horrified by the attack, but in 2009 she disappeared with her three children and for the past two years has been on the run in East Africa after allegedly plotting to attack Western targets in Kenya

Reports that one of the al Qaeda linked militants who carried out the Westgate attack was a woman has prompted intense speculation that she was involved.

Al-Shabab, the Somali group responsible, has denied the claims, but the Kenyan authorities have said forensic experts are working to establish if any of the attackers was female after receiving intelligence that a British woman was involved.

Earlier, the British foreign office said the number of Britons killed in the attack on the Westgate shopping mall attack has been revised down from six to five.

A spokeswoman said one of the victims previously thought to have been a UK national was now known to be Kenyan.

However, she warned that the casualty figure could still rise further as the authorities continue to comb the scene.

The death toll from the attack is expected to rise from 67 — including 61 civilians and six members of the Kenyan security forces — as the Kenyan authorities scour the wreckage of the mall.

Five terrorists also died in the four-day stand-off and the Kenyans say they are holding 11 suspects in custody in relation to the attack — including at least seven who are thought to have been arrested at the airport.

International forensic experts, including teams from Scotland Yard, the United States, Israel, Germany and Canada, are helping sift through the debris.