3 April 2015 - Two NYC women arrested over terror plot
Activer le mode zen
2 women arrested in NYC, accused of planning Boston Marathon-type attack
Staff (The Chicago Tribune)
Two women were arrested Thursday on charges they plotted to wage violent jihad by building a homemade bomb and using it for a Boston Marathon-type attack.
One of the women, Noelle Velentzas, had been "obsessed with pressure cookers since the Boston Marathon attacks in 2013" and made jokes alluding to explosives after receiving one as a gift, according to a criminal complaint. And it says in a conversation with an undercover investigator about the women's willingness to fight, she pulled a knife and asked, "Why can't we be bad b-----s?"
Two women were arrested in Brooklyn, New York, and charged with allegedly planning to build an explosive device as part of an ISIS-inspired plot.
The complaint unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn names Velentzas and her former roommate, Asia Siddiqui, as the targets of an undercover investigation into the thwarted homegrown terror plot.
Read on...
______________________________
Background
Polly Mosendz (Newsweek)
Velentzas was briefly homeless and stayed at the ICNA Relief center in Queens for a short time between 2008 and 2009. ICNA provides social services for the Muslim community. While at ICNA, Velentzas studied to become a home health care provider, became employed and married. When she married, she left the shelter. In 2013, Velentzas held a banquet dinner with Imam Siraj Wahhaj organized by ICNA Relief, according to a Where Event invitation.
"Ms. Velentzas appeared to be a young woman who had experienced hardship in her life but was working towards self-development and long term stability," S. Malika Rushdan, the director of ICNA Relief USA's transitional housing division, said in a press release.
Read on...
____________________________
IS
Marisol Belle (USA Today)
The women looked at Islamic State propaganda on the Internet, but there did not appear to be any specific terror plot or that they had direct contact with the militants, said John Miller, the head of the New York Police Department's counterterrorism operation. The public was never in danger, he said.
"The defendants have repeatedly expressed their support for violent jihad," said a statement from the Department of Justice.
For example, Velentzas, who said slain al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden was one of her heroes, declared that she and Siddiqui are "citizens of the Islamic State," according to the criminal complaint.
Velentzas "expressed violent jihadist ideology" and repeatedly expressed interest in terrorist attacks committed in the U.S., the complaint said.
Read on...
______________________________
Context
Carolina Leid (ABC)
Two months ago, three New York City men were arrested on charges they allegedly conspired to join ISIS but also expressed willingness to carry out attacks on the terror group's behalf in the United States. The men had planned to travel to the Middle East and had also pledged to launch attacks in this country, including one on President Obama or planting a bomb in Coney Island, Brooklyn, federal officials said.
Over the past 18 months, more than 30 people have been charged with joining terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq or trying to do so.
Read on...
Archives
Accédez aux archives de la revue
La Clé anglaise
Accédez à notre portail de ressources
[page;/html/cle/facebook/FacebookCode11.html]
Pour citer cette ressource :
"3 April 2015 - Two NYC women arrested over terror plot", La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), mars 2015. Consulté le 24/04/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/key-story/archives-revue-de-presse-2015/3-april-2015-two-nyc-women-arrested-over-terror-plot