Jihad Jane, female Headley, arrested in US

The arrest and indictment of an American national, operating under the pseudonym of Jihad Jane, for plotting to recruit terror candidates in south Asia and Europe has sent a chill down the spines of Indian intelligence agencies. The white jihadi, someone who can fly under the radar of normal surveillance, is now an ever-growing reality.

Last year, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested David Coleman Headley for plotting to identify terror targets in India. His links to the 26/11 terrorists and the recent German Bakery blast in Pune are also being probed. Jihad Jane, a middle-aged Pennsylvania resident whose real name is Colleen R LaRose, alias Fatima LaRose, is the latest addition to India’s growing white jihadi nightmare.

LaRose, 46, a blonde with green eyes, was arrested in Philadelphia in October last year and charged with spending more than a year networking with would-be jihadis around the world. She was charged on four counts: conspiracy to provide support to terrorists, kill in a foreign country (Sweden), indulging in identity thefts and making false statements. Seven arrests have been made in Ireland in connection with the count to kill a Swedish national.

“The case demonstrates that terrorists are looking for Americans to join them in their cause and it shatters any lingering thoughts that one can spot a terrorist on an appearance,” US attorney Michael Levy said in the 11-page indictment unsealed in Philadelphia.

The charging of Jihad Jane comes months after Headley, a Pakistani-American national, was charged with plotting terrorist attacks in India and Denmark.    

Headley changed his name from Daood Gilani to Headley so that no one would suspect him of being a jihadi. LaRose takes the danger one step further, for she is the first high-profile female white jihadi.

Jihad Jane’s associate, said to be based in south Asia - which could mean either India or Pakistan - was not named but identified in court by his online identity CC #3. It was this individual, the court was told, who directed her to kill Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks.

The Irish police on Tuesday arrested seven people - four men and three women - suspected of a conspiracy to murder Vilks because of his prophet cartoons, in an operation coordinated with US and European security agencies.

CNN cited a US government official familiar with the case as saying LaRose was successful in recruiting some people to join the cause and was able to raise money. She was in contact with committed jihadists in south Asia, western Europe and eastern Europe, the official said. He declined to link her to any specific terrorist organisations.

The rise of white jihadis has forced the Indian intelligence agencies to start vetting all visa applications, especially those of western nationals with Pakistani origins. But it’s not easy. “If we have to look out for everyone visiting India, it would be a nightmare,” admits one official. “But that is what it (terrorism) is evolving to,” he said.

According to the grand jury indictment in the US, LaRose and her associates “recruited men online to wage violent jihad in south Asia and Europe”. The group was specifically recruiting “women online who had passports and ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad,” says the indictment filed on March 4.

A senior source in the Indian security establishment said that ever since the Headley case broke cover, “we have been looking at the possibility of white jihadis.” He said the disguise of a “western passport is enormous” and difficult to detect if the holders have terrorist intents. He also raised doubts if Indian visa rules, enacted after the Headley case, would help.

“We do know that there are a significant number of people of US and European origin who are part of the al Qaeda and affiliates,” he said.

Another source said they haven’t yet found any specific input to link Jihad Jane to Indian terror plots. But “the fact that a south Asian was her partner in crime is itself worrying,” he said.

According to the US indictment, from about 2008 until October 15, 2009, Jihad Jane was in regular touch with a south Asian, who on December 8, 2008 “sent an electronic communication to defendant” stating that he would like to “wage jihad and become a shaheed.”

Jihad Jane was also able to recruit a person from western Europe who too was willing to give up life for jihad.