Al Shabaab Denies "White Widow" Participated in the Assault

Update (9/26/13): At Kenya's request, Interpol has issued a worldwide notice for Lewthwaite's arrest "on charges of being in possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony dating back to December 2011."

"We have an adequate number of young men who are fully committed and we do not employ our sisters in such military operations," announced al-Shabaab on Twitter in a categorical denial of reports that a British woman participated in the assault on Westgate Mall.

Al-Shabaab is attempting to cover up the involvement of a British intelligence asset in the attack on Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi. Their categorical denial contradicts multiple witnesses and is likely aimed at obscuring their now-obvious connections with MI6. 

Samantha Lewthwaite, the daughter of a British army officer, converted to Islam in her teenage years and met Germaine Lindsay, later one of four men framed for committing the 7/7 bombings, on an Islamic chatroom (patsy pond). At the time, she was studying religion at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), a training ground of MI5 and MI6 that receives large donations from the Saudi royal family. She "dropped out" - a move one might expect from an operative receiving some kind of training - and married Lindsay the same year.

The Guardian:

A Kenyan newspaper, The Star, said survivors recalled a woman giving orders as the attackers stormed the shopping centre. 

It said two employees of the Radio Africa Group told the newspaper that "a woman appeared to be giving orders." They added: "One said her face was covered but she had a woman's arms and body. She was not carrying a gun but had a large bag around her waist."

The witnesses said she gave instructions in English which would be translated into Swahili as the attackers took hold of the shopping centre.

The paper quoted a witness as saying: "The woman was not armed but as soon as she issued orders, the men would go on a killing rampage."

Another witness said: "It was definitely a woman because we could tell it from the voice." 

The paper said security officials who have viewed CCTV footage of the attack agree there is a light skinned or even Caucasian person among the attackers. But some officials believe it is a woman with a pony tail while others believe that is being confused for a bandana.

Today, a nine-year old girl whose brother was among the dead has come forward with her account of seeing a white woman among the attackers.

The Telegraph:

A schoolgirl who saw her nine-year-old brother shot dead by terrorists in Nairobi has told her teachers she saw a white woman among the attackers.

Though some witnesses only saw her give orders, one woman claims that a female attacker fitting Lewthwaite's description fired repeatedly at her with a machine gun. A senior anti-terrorism officer in Kenya said that many witnesses had described one of the attackers being a woman resembling her.

In addition to all of this, the body of a British woman was discovered at the scene. Rumors are circulating that this was Lewthwaite. 

So why is al-Shabaab categorically denying that any women were involved in the attack? The group is in all likelihood a group of mercenaries working for U.S. and British intelligence services. If she was killed in the assault, they may fear the exposure of their intelligence connections. This would likely result in them immediately disappearing from the media and probably having their funding severed as a result. They would also have to fear elimination, for these agencies do not like leaving loose ends. 

Perhaps they are stalling confirmation of her participation in the assault because the global cryptocracy has not yet decided whether to opt for the media impact of using a British woman as the new face of Islamic terror or to write her out of the script in order to ensure that emphasis is not diverted from the Somalian identity of the group, a crucial part of the geopolitical agenda behind this event.

In any case, the accounts of various witnesses provide a compelling case that a British woman, likely Samantha Lewthwaite, was on scene and commanding the operation. The importance this is not absorbed, however, if it is not recognized that her involvement in Islamic radicalism began not long after her mysterious leave from a school recognized as a training ground for MI5 and MI6. To put it simply, she was, like every other terrorist leader, an intelligence asset.