(Agencies): Dalal al Hashemi, the veiled attacker who stabbed a 47-year-old American kindergarten teacher to death inside the restroom of an upscale mall in Abu Dhabi, admitted the crime and is now facing the death penalty, according to The National.

It has been reported that al Hashemi, a 38-year-old Yemen-born Emirati national, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing Ibolya Ryan — the American teacher who relocated to Abu Dhabi in search for a better life following a divorce. The teacher was brutally attacked just hours before the attacker allegedly planted a bomb outside the home of Dr M.H.H. — a 55-year-old American of Egyptian origin who practices in a hospital in Abu Dhabi.

Police believe the attacker targeted the teacher because of her nationality. Ibolya was lured into a toilet cubicle after her attacker, who pretended to be an elderly woman, asked her for assistance. Once inside the cubicle, the attacker stabbed the victim repeatedly with a butcher’s knife. After her attacker fled, the wounded teacher stumbled to the mall’s main walkway — only yards from a Waitrose supermarket — but collapsed in a pool of blood.

Speculation has also been mounting that the attacker may have belonged to a terror cell rather than acting as a lone wolf.

Also, gulfnews.com quoted an official source as saying that the attacker is not married to any of the men recently tried by the UAE State Security Court for ties to Muslim Brotherhood. Contrary to rumors, the woman has no relations with any of those convicted earlier this year for aiding and abetting banned organizations in the country, the source confirmed.

The source said investigations into the murder were continuing and the Public Prosecution has been urged to complete its proceedings into the fatal stabbing of Ibolya. Meanwhile, Paul Ryan, the victim’s ex-husband, disclosed in an interview that their twin sons — Aidan and Adam, 11, — had been waiting for their mother in the mall in which she died. He said their sons were with their mother at the mall and had agreed to meet her at a coffee shop after they had used the bathrooms.

In an interview published by The National, Paul revealed his sons waited for an hour wondering what had happened. “They saw police officers run by at one point but then they just waited for her. She didn’t come and they looked around and they couldn’t find her so they went home, which is just steps away from this mall.

They went home and waited for her there,” he said. He went on to say the boys do not know details of that day until now and he is trying his best to keep it that way. “They know that she was attacked and I’ve asked them not to watch that video, not to see the scenes of the bathroom and I hope that they don’t,” he said. Referring to the attacker as ‘monster’, he asserted, “This monster was lying in wait for someone like her to come along — for an hour — in the bathroom. Unfortunately, it was the mother of my children.”

Paul had temporarily moved to Abu Dhabi to allow his twin sons to finish their school semester. “I think it’s the best thing because the boys love that school and want some closure there as well.” He disclosed his plans to immediately take his boys to Vienna or the US changed after speaking with representatives from the office of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

He received personal calls from Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Minister of Interior, and was comforted to meet the officers who tenderly cared for his sons in their apartment as they waited for him. He also had constant contact with Abu Dhabi Police liaison officers. “The way this has all been handled has quieted my fears to a great extent. I’ve achieved a deep respect for the Government and how they’re handling things, and the seriousness with which they take everything. I began to realize how personally they took this attack in this society and that they were deeply wounded by it, they were shocked and angered by it, that this could happen,” he said.

The Government has pledged to pay the school and university costs for the three Ryan children, including Timia, 13, who lives with her father in Vienna. Furthermore, a candlelight vigil in memory of Ibolya and in solidarity with her children was held at Kite Beach in Jumeirah, Dubai at 6pm on Sunday. In a related development, Khaleej Times reported that British expatriates in the UAE have been advised to stay vigilant following the murder of the American teacher. The UK government said though there is no specific terrorism threat in the UAE, terrorists may be plotting to target Western expats residing in the usually trouble-free country.

The British Embassy said: “The Foreign and Commonwealth Office keeps its travel advice under regular review to ensure that British nationals have the most up-to-date information. We have included the Dec 1 fatal attack on a US citizen in Abu Dhabi as a factual update to the ‘safety and security’ section of our travel advice for the UAE; however, our advice remains the same: the vast majority of visits are trouble-free, but you should take sensible precautions to protect yourself and your belongings. Personal attacks are rare, but do happen.” According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website, though the threat from terrorism is “general”, attacks can’t be ruled out and could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by foreigners. Under the ‘Terrorism’ section of the FCO’s Travel Advice page, British nationals in the UAE are being advised to stay “vigilant at this time. Attacks could be directed against British interests. There is considered to be a heightened threat of terrorist attack globally against UK interests and British nationals, from groups or individuals motivated by the conflict in Iraq and Syria.” With around 100,000 British nationals living in the UAE and a further one million visiting the country every year, UK nationals represent the biggest western community in the UAE.

The country had up to now been perceived as being largely immune to terrorist activity but since the UAE became a strong member of the US-led coalition against ISIS, terrorist threats in the country have materialized. Also, back in October, the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi issued a statement warning US citizens of an anonymous Internet post that encouraged attacks against teachers at American and other international schools in the UAE. The embassy was unaware of any specific threat at that time, but called on citizens to be vigilant about their personal security. The fatal Dec 1 attack has since forced both the British and US embassies to heighten security alerts for citizens of both nationalities living in the country. The woman who stabbed the US teacher to death at acted alone and targeted her victim randomly, a security source said Sunday. The source said the woman, previously identified as a 38-year-old Emirati, “had recently logged on to some terrorist websites through which she... learned how to manufacture explosives”. “Nothing so far suggests that the accused has links with terrorist organisations or political parties that could be blamed for having incited her to commit the crime,” WAM reported.