Interpol issued a wanted persons alert at Kenya's request on Thursday for Samantha Lewthwaite, a British citizen dubbed the "White Widow," without mentioning her suspected role in the Nairobi mall attack.
The international police agency's so-called "red alert" notice said Lewthwaite, 29, is wanted by Kenya on charges of possession of explosives and conspiracy to commit a felony dating back to December 2011.
Lewthwaite, also believed to use the alias "Natalie Webb," is the widow of Germaine Lindsay, one of the Islamist bombers who carried out attacks on public transport in London in July 2005, and is thought to have left Britain several years ago.
South African Interior Minister Naledi Pandor told a news conference in Pretoria on Thursday that Lewthwaite had entered South Africa in July 2008 with an illegal passport, which she last used in February 2011.
She is wanted in connection with an alleged plot to attack luxury hotels and restaurants in Kenya.
British police have cited Lewthwaite as a possible suspect in last week's siege of a Nairobi shopping mall by Islamists from Somalia's al-Shabaab movement.
Some witnesses said that women were among the attackers in the four-day mall attack, which killed 67 people. But al-Shabaab denied on its Twitter feed using "our sisters" in its military operations.
An Interpol spokesman declined to say when Kenya lodged its request for the alert.
"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," Interpol Secretary Ronald Noble said in a statement.
Late on Wednesday night, al-Shabaab's leader for the first time confirmed claims by his group's members that it was behind the attack on the mall.
In an audio posted on the al-Shabaab-linked website www.somalimemo.net, Ahmed Godane, also known as Mukhtar Abu al-Zubayr, said the attack was in retaliation for Kenya's incursion in October 2011 into southern Somalia to crush the insurgents.
簡明釋義：總部位於法國裏昂的國際刑警組織26日表示，在肯尼亞政府的要求下，該組織對綽號為“白寡婦”的英國女子薩曼莎發出通緝令。國際刑警組織表示，該女子被肯尼亞政府指控在2011年12月期間涉嫌持有爆炸物並有意在肯尼亞犯下重罪。國際刑警組織此次發出“紅色警報”，要求成員國協助逮捕該嫌疑犯。雖然國際刑警組織沒有把此次逮捕與肯尼亞內羅畢韋斯特蓋特購物中心的恐怖襲擊聯係在一起，不過媒體猜測薩曼莎非常可能與此次恐怖襲擊相關。薩曼莎是2005年倫敦地鐵******************式炸彈襲擊者之一林賽的遺孀。
