The notorious terrorist nicknamed the ‘White Widow’ has been shot and killed, according to a Russian news agency. Samantha Lewthwaite, 30, was reported dead by the Moscow outlet Regnum, allegedly killed by a volunteer sniper in East Ukraine.
The incident was said to have taken place a fortnight ago where Lewthwaite was fighting as part of a volunteer battalion called Aidar.
In October the Mirror reported that she was in Syria fighting with Islamic State militants and training female suicide bombers.
“One of the world’s most wanted terrorists Samantha Lewthwaite who fought as part of a Ukrainian battalion has been killed by a volunteer sniper,” said the news agency report.
“According to our information, the White Widow fought on the side of Ukrainian volunteer battalion Aidar as a sniper.”
The claim has not yet been formally verified and confirmation either way may not be forthcoming immediately since she is wanted worldwide for terrorist activities.
The name ‘White Widow’ is a reference to her skin colour, her marriage to 7/7 suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay and the name ‘black widows’ given to Chechen female suicide bombers.
She allegedly left Britain in 2009 before being linked to atrocities in Africa including attacking non-Muslim places of worship.
Originally viewed as the innocent Home Counties’ wife of a suicide bomber who sold a story of living with one of Britain’s most notorious suicide bombers to The Sun after the London bombings, she was later seen as ‘the world’s most dangerous female terrorist.
She is accused of joining two men in throwing grenades at foreigners in a beer garden in Mombasa who were watching England play Italy in Euro 2012. Three people were killed and 25 injured.
She was also linked to another grenade attack which killed security guards in an upmarket restaurant.
The report of her death added that “The Russian sniper who killed the British terrorist now has a price of nearly one million dollars on his head from Ukrainian special services.”
But Lewthwaite dad, 58-year-old builder Andrew Lewthwaite, told the paper: “I have heard nothing. No-one has told me anything about this. I’m not saying anything more about it.”
However there is some doubt over the extraordinary claims as Russia could be behind the story in an attempt to bolster its anti-terrorism credentials as it masses troops and equipment in the war torn territory.
Nato today warned that Russian military equipment is entering Ukraine on a large-scale and Ukrainian Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak told a cabinet meeting: ‘The main task I see is to prepare for combat operations. We are doing this, we are readying our reserves.’
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