2 'Islamic State-Inspired' Women Accused of Planning Attacks in US

Two New York City women have been arrested and accused of planning to carry out a "terrorist attack" in the United States, according to a federal criminal complaint made public on Thursday.

Noelle Velentzas, 28, and Asia Siddiqui, 31, plotted to hit police, government or military targets based on their "violent jihadist beliefs," according to the complaint filed in US District Court in Brooklyn.

It said Velentzas and Siddiqui were conspiring "to prepare an explosive device to be detonated in a terrorist attack in the United States."

The complaint said Velentzas had praised Al Qaeda's September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and said she and Siddiqui were "citizens of the Islamic State."

The women, former roommates in the city borough of Queens, had researched how to build an explosive device and had read textbooks on electricity and watched online videos about soldering, it said.

When they were arrested, agents found bomb-building materials including propane gas tanks, soldering tools, pipes, a pressure cooker and fertiliser, authorities said.

The women also voiced support for beheadings of Western journalists and others by militants in control of territory in Syria and Iraq, the complaint said.

Charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction against persons or property in the United States, the pair appeared briefly before US Magistrate Judge Viktor Pohorelsky in Brooklyn federal court.

Neither Velentzas nor Siddiqui entered a plea. Authorities said both women posed substantial flight risks, and they were ordered detained until trial.

Thomas Dunn, a court-appointed lawyer for Siddiqui, said she would plead not guilty if indicted. "I know it is a serious case, but we're going to fight it out in court," he said.

Velentzas's lawyer Sean Maher declined to comment.

The women face the possibility of life in prison if convicted.

"We are committed to doing everything in our ability to detect, disrupt and deter attacks by homegrown violent extremists," Brooklyn US Attorney Loretta Lynch said in a statement. Lynch is President Barack Obama's nominee for US Attorney General.