New York women inspired by IS plotted bombing, FBI says
The FBI has arrested two women on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack, similar to the Boston bombing.
A Brooklyn court charged Asia Siddiqui and Noelle Velentzas with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction.
The two women, US citizens, spoke only to say they understood the charges.
They
had referred to themselves as "citizens of the Islamic State",
prosecutors allege, and Ms Siddiqui had several gas tanks and
instructions on turning them into bombs.
"My client will enter a
plea of not guilty, if and when there is an indictment. I know it's a
serious case, but we're going to fight it out in court," said Ms
Siddiqui's lawyer, Thomas Dunn.
Ms Siddiqui "had repeated contact
with members of the foreign terrorist organisation al-Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula" the court documents said.
Her accomplice, Ms Velentzas, referred to Osama Bin Laden as a hero, according to the US Department of Justice.
"The
defendants allegedly plotted to wreak terror by creating explosive
devices and even researching the pressure cooker bombs used during the
Boston Marathon bombing," said Assistant Director in Charge Diego
Rodriguez, of the FBI's New York Field Office.
The justice
department said the two women have plotted to build an explosive device
since at least August of last year and studied chemistry and
electricity.
They did not have a specific target but at one point considered Herald Square in Manhattan, according to the court documents. Ms Velentzas apparently
criticised a US Air Force veteran who was recently arrested for
attempting to travel to Syria engage in violent jihad.
She
questioned why people would try to travel overseas when there were
targets in the US that provided opportunities for "pleasing Allah", the
justice department said.
The documents say the women have been meeting with an undercover agent for several years.
Last
month, officials announced that they had charged 47-year-old Tairod
Nathan Webster Pugh, a US citizen and a veteran of the US Air Force, for
allegedly trying to provide material support to the Islamic State.
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