Published Thursday, December 4, 2014
United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities said Thursday they had arrested a woman for the murder of an American teacher in a shopping center and a foiled plot to bomb a US doctor's home.
Police said the suspect was a 38-year-old Emirati whom they have dubbed "The Reem Island Ghost" after the location of the mall where the attack by the suspect took place on Monday in the ladies restroom.
Police said Wednesday that the divorced American woman, who worked at an Abu Dhabi kindergarten, was stabbed by a person wearing a black robe, black gloves and a niqab, an outfit worn by many women in Gulf states.
They initially said the victim was 37 years old but on Thursday said she was 47.
The victim's 11-year-old twins were taken into police care until their father arrived from abroad.
The suspect is also accused of attempting to plant a makeshift bomb in front of the home of an American doctor of Egyptian origin in Abu Dhabi.
In CCTV footage released on Wednesday, the assailant is seen entering the shopping mall shortly after 1:00 pm and then rushing from the restroom about 90 minutes later, as shoppers scrambled in panic.
The footage was accompanied by pictures of a bloodied kitchen knife and trails of blood on the floor of the restroom.
New footage released on Thursday shows a woman entering a building in Abu Dhabi, pulling a wheeled luggage case, in which she was allegedly hiding a bomb.
The device was planted at the door of one of the apartments in the building.
Police said the resident of the apartment is a 46-year-old doctor and father of three, and that the bomb was discovered by one of his sons as he was "heading down to a mosque for prayer."
The doctor told police that the woman came a few days before the incident to his residence to confirm the family's presence but quickly fled before they could identify her.
Emirati police said she had confessed to the crimes.
"The suspect targeted her victims based only on their nationalities and not over a personal dispute," said Interior Minister Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed.
He described the attacks as "an attempt to create unrest, undermine security, and terrorize people in the UAE."
The footage also shows a raid on a house to arrest the woman. A man who was also in the house was handcuffed by the police.
The ministry did not give details on the fate of the man or say if he had a role in the attacks.
It showed several knives and bomb-making materials, as well as traces of blood on the steering wheel of the suspect's car.
The attacks come little more than a month after US embassies in the Gulf, including the UAE, called for vigilance when a post on a jihadist website encouraged attacks on American and other international schools there, specifically on teachers.
Earlier this week, a recording attributed to Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, the spokesman of the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group, was released, urging Muslims to attack Westerners by any means, even if only to "spit on their faces."
Since September, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Bahrain have taken part in a US-led campaign of air strikes against ISIS in Syria, raising concerns about possible retaliation in the kingdom.
Last month, the UAE issued a list of 83 Islamist groups which it classified as "terrorist organizations."
The UAE hosts millions of foreigners and has remained largely unscathed as unrest swept Arab countries and neighboring Gulf countries, as it has long cracked down on dissent and calls for democratic reform, drawing criticism from human rights groups.
The news come after an assailant stabbed and wounded a Canadian while he shopped at a mall in Dhahran on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
Last month, a Dane was shot and wounded in Riyadh – an attack ISIS claimed Monday was carried out by its supporters.
"We are witnessing an unprecedented, heinous crime in the UAE," Bin Zayed added.
Violent crime against Westerners is relatively rare in the UAE and other Gulf countries, but millions of Asian and African workers face abuses including unpaid wages, confiscation of passports, physical violence and forced labor, forcing international rights groups to call for urgent action.
(AFP, Al-Akhbar)
Video here
Caught: Footage released by the Abu Dhabi Police on Thursday shows them arresting a woman suspected on stabbing an American mother to death inside a mall restroom on Monday
Dragged away: She is seen being led away in cuffs following the night-time raid on her home
Swoop: A SWAT team can be seen closing in on the house ahead of the arrest
Stopped: The team also found a man inside the home during the raid but he was not arrested
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