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.
1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period. March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper, The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s Hsa-tu-gaw (the Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of Sgaw , is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian Dhamma Thadinsa (the Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl
Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do
By Sumnima Udas , CNN October 31, 2011 -- Updated 0857 GMT (1657 HKT) Ziona, center, with his has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren in rural Baktwang village, India. STORY HIGHLIGHTS One man in India is the patriarch of a family of 160 in rural India Ziona, who only goes by his first name, has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren. Ziona's father, Chana, founded the Christian sect in Baktwang that promotes polygamy "I never wanted to get married but that's the path God has chosen for me" Mizoram, India (CNN) -- The world's population hits 7 billion this week, but Ziona, the patriarch of what may be the biggest family in the world, is not bothered. "I don't care about overpopulation in India ... I believe God has chosen us to be like this (have big families). Those who are born into this family don't want to leave this tradition so we just keep growing and growing," he says with a smile. Ziona, who only goes by his f
Comments