Al Qaeda now recruiting, deploying female militants across Europe

European intelligence chiefs have reportedly decided to explore and understand a new strategy by al-Qaeda to recruit and deploy female militants within the European Union. The Daily Times quoted a London Observer report as saying that these female recruits were being used for a wide range of activities, including running logistics and propaganda activities to undertaking suicide bombing missions. ....

This is now of a much greater scale than we have ever seen before. The problem is differentiating who is just fundraising or running websites, who is recruiting and who is a potential bomber," said one French intelligence specialist. ...
"The issue is a very high priority," one EU official said.

In Iraq, United States intelligence officers say that militants are marrying women then allowing them to be raped in the knowledge that the subsequent dishonour and rejection will make them easier to groom as bombers. The officers have also noted a strong incidence of women who have had relatives, civilians or militants, killed in the fighting turning to violence.

According to the source, militants "seek to recruit women with a brother, father or son already with the extremist groups".