Jihadist ‘recruited women posing as a man’

A 19-YEAR-OLD woman who allegedly led an all-female jihadist cell posed as a man to entice other women to join, it was claimed yesterday.

Inès Madani is suspected of taking the nom de guerre of ‘Abu Omar’ on social networks as she tried to recruit women to carry out attacks in Paris including a failed car bombing near Notre-Dame cathedral. She was charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing one of the police officers who arrested her. Madani reportedly succeeded in recruiting Ornella Gilligmann, a 29-year-old mother of three accused of taking part in the failed attack, by contacting her under the alias.

Gilligmann, who is under arrest, told detectives that ‘Abu Omar’ had convinced her via an online service to leave her husband, but then suddenly broke off contact.

Days later, Gilligmann says she was contacted by Madani under her own name and persuaded to join the plot. “(Madani) convinced her that men couldn’t be trusted and suggested that she take part (in the attempted bombing),” a source said.

France remains on high alert after a series of terrorist attacks. Police launched a massive counter-terrorist operation in central Paris yesterday after a “false alarm” triggered by reports that witnesses heard shooting near an underground shopping centre and hostages had been taken at a church.