Irish born terrorist Samantha Lewthwaite, known as the White Widow, has married a ruthless terror chief on the run in lawless Somalia.

The Daily Mirror reports that the Northern Ireland fugitive has married suspected warlord Hassan Maalim Ibrahim, also known as Sheikh Hassan.

Ibrahim is a senior commander in radical terror group al-Shabaab, allies of al-Qaeda.

The paper says Lewthwaite’s third marriage means she will be offered better protection by her new husband’s heavily-armed relatives as security agencies step up the hunt for her.

Lewthwaite has already ditched her inner circle of bodyguards, known as the Suicide Brigade, who were looking after her night and day.

Suspected bomber Lewthwaite and Hassan have been spotted in the remote village of Nasable, 25 miles from the south central Somali city of Baidoa where the mother of four was spotted last November.

A senior security insider told the Daily Mirror: “Her in-laws will treat her very well as she is now one of them and part of one of the large clans.

“Samantha is in a heavily guarded village in a no-go area for outsiders.

“But we’re sure she’ll move around which is why she needs to get in with the family.

“At the moment she hardly leaves her grass thatch house. She wears black socks and gloves and hijab to cover her white skin so spies won’t see her.

“Samantha has given herself great protection with this marriage.”

Lewthwaite is the widow of 7/7 London suicide bomber Germaine Lindsay and was also believed to be married to former Kenyan naval officer turned terrorist Abdi Wahid.

The report says she has been on the run for nearly three years after being linked to a failed 2011 plot to blow up hotels and a mall in Mombasa, Kenya.

The paper adds that she became the world’s most wanted female terrorist when she was linked to last September’s Nairobi mall massacre that killed 67 shoppers.

Security services believe Lewthwaite is still directing terror operations from inside Somalia.

A source said: “As long as she is free she is a danger.”