Two young women in Queens, New York have been arrested by the Joint Terrorism Task Force today accused of planning suicide bomb attacks here in the USA inspired by the ISIS terror group.
Officials say that the women had discussed suicide by cop if they were discovered before their bomb went off. They talked about going down shooting, apparently.
The women, identified in court papers as 28-year-old Noelle Velentzas and 31-year-old Asia Siddiqui, are accused of conspiring to detonate an explosive device somewhere within the United States. The two suspects allegedly discussed possible targets online but there was no specific terror plot and no active explosive device, one official familiar with the case said.
Both women, U.S. citizens who were until recently roommates in a Queens apartment, are expected to appear in Brooklyn federal court later Thursday.
Investigators allege Siddiqui was in possession of multiple propane tanks, as well as instructions for how to transform those tanks into explosive devices, at the time of her arrest, according to a criminal complaint. She and Velentzas had been in touch with an undercover informant in the case, but Siddiqui recently told that undercover agent she didn’t want to talk to the officer about her progress in learning how to build a bomb, according to the criminal complaint.
Velentzas allegedly espoused jihadist ideologiy and an interest in terrorism in multiple conversations with the undercover agent, the complaint said. She allegedly praised the Sept. 11, 2001 terrori attacks that killed thousands of Americans, and told the agent that being a martyr through a suicide attack guarantees entrance into heaven. According to the complaint, Velentzas showed the agent her phone, which included a background picture of bin Laden holding an AK-47, and called the infamous terrorist and his mentor, Abdullah Azzam, her heroes, the complaint says.
Both claim membership in the religion of peace.