Friends and family of a British woman suspected of leading the Kenyan shopping mall massacre have reacted with shock over her links to the atrocity as the Kenyan president confirmed the terrorists had been defeated.
Terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite, also known as the White Widow, is believed to be one of the masterminds behind the Nairobi attack which has claimed more than 70 lives, including six Britons.
Those who knew the mother of three growing up in Aylesbury have described her as being 'pleasant and courteous' and having a 'very great personality' but lacking confidence.
Her frail grandmother, Elizabeth Allen, was taken to hospital in Northern Ireland with friends saying the pressure of the situation has taken its toll on her health.
Joan Baird, a veteran Ulster Unionist councillor in Banbridge who knows the family, said: 'This is so distressing for everyone. Mrs Allen is 85 and she is in and out of hospital.'
Aylesbury councillor Raj Khan, who knew Lewthwaite socially, said: 'She was not strong-headed.
'And that's why I find it absolutely amazing that she is supposed to be the head of an international criminal terrorist organisation.'
Niknam Hussain, a former mayor of Aylesbury, added: 'I'm astonished and amazed. I can't believe it's true in any which way.
'Until they provide us with proof, I think it's innocent until proven guilty, to be honest.
'To ascribe a level of sophistication that she could control a whole terrorist empire, I'm sorry, I don't think that Tom Clancy could write anything like that.'
After converting to Islam at 17, Lewthwaite changed her name to Sherafiyah and married Jermaine Lindsay, who detonated the bomb at King's Cross Tube station on July 7 2005, killing 26 people.
Meanwhile, Kenya president Uhuru Kenyatta confirmed this evening that all the terrorists who stormed the shopping mall have been defeated.
He said the total death toll stood at 72 but warned more bodies were trapped under rubble in the building.
Kenyatta added five of the terrorists have been killed and 11 are in custody, but did not confirm intelligence reports suggesting Americans and a British woman were involved in the attack.
He also declared three days of nation mourning.
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