US housewife ‘Jihad Jane’ volunteered to kill cartoonist

Fanatic: Colleen LaRose, seen in Muslim clothing and in a picture issued by the FBI, told jihadists she wanted to be a martyr
Paul Thompson|In Miami12 April 2012

An American housewife who called herself "Jihad Jane" has been named as part of a plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist who satirised the prophet Mohammed.

Colleen LaRose offered to use her western looks and identity to help Islamic terrorists carry out the murder.

Described by US officials as a suburban housewife, LaRose's arrest was linked to raids in the Irish Republic yesterday in which seven people were arrested.

The four men and three women, all Muslim immigrants, were arrested as part of an international investigation into a plot to kill cartoonist Lars Vilks, who depicted Mohammed with the body of a dog in 2007.

LaRose, 46, who also used the online name of Fatima Rose, was arrested in October by the FBI at home in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. She has been charged with conspiracy to provide help to foreign terrorists and conspiracy to kill in a foreign country. She faces life in prison if convicted.

Court papers obtained by ABC TV revealed that LaRose used the internet to contact jihadist groups saying she was "desperate to do something to help" suffering Muslim people, and that she wanted to become a martyr.

Her video, which was posted on YouTube, was picked up by the FBI and her phone calls and emails were intercepted and secretly monitored.
A court indictment said LaRose said her physical appearance would allow her to "blend in with many people" which "may be a way to achieve what is in my heart".

David Kris, assistant attorney-general for national security, said LaRose agreed to one jihadist's request to get married to provide cover for their plan. She replied: "I will make this my goal till I achieve it or die trying."

She then travelled to Europe and tracked Vilks online. Last September she joined an online community hosted by Vilks and eventually moved into Vilks's artist enclave in Sweden.

Emails obtained by the FBI revealed that LaRose said it was "an honour and great pleasure to die or kill" for her contact, and pledged that "only death will stop me here that I am so close to the target."

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