THE TELEGRAPH: An American woman known as "Jihad Jane" was charged by US prosecutors on Tuesday with recruiting jihadist fighters to plan terror attacks in Europe and South Asia.
Colleen LaRose, a woman from suburban Philadelphia who was "desperate to do something" to help suffering Muslims, is also accused of agreeing to kill a Swedish citizen on orders from unnamed terrorists.
Miss LaRose, who is believed to be 47, is alleged to have travelled to Sweden to carry out the killing, but it is understood she was stopped by the authorities before she could do it.
A Justice Department statement said she was recruited over the internet by a contact who ordered her to kill the target in a way that would frighten "the whole Kufar [non-believer] world".
US prosecutors say Miss LaRose, who is also known as Fatima Rose, and five collaborators believed that her appearance and American citizenship would help her "blend in" while carrying out her plans.
They also allegedly recruited men online "to wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe, and recruited women on the internet who has who had passports and the ability to travel to and around Europe in support of violent jihad", said the statement.
The suspect, who faces a possible life sentence and a $1 million (£670,000) fine if convicted, is also accused of stealing a US passport in order to "facilitate an act of international terrorism". >>> Tom Leonard in New York | Thursday, March 09, 2010
