(Via New York Times) Two women living in Queens have been charged with planning to build a bomb that they wanted to detonate in the United States.

The women, Noelle Velentzas, 28, and Asia Siddiqui, 31, who until recently were roommates, were named in a complaint unsealed on Thursday in Federal District Court in Brooklyn, and were expected to appear in court on Thursday afternoon.

Ms. Velentzas and Ms. Siddiqui, who are American citizens, appeared to be interested in jihad, according to the complaint, which said that they had been communicating with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and had been viewing violent videos made by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

In the complaint, the government said the plot advanced to the point that Ms. Siddiqui bought four propane gas tanks and stored them in a stairwell outside her apartment. Earlier, the women had bought potassium gluconate at a Queens pharmacy, bought the fertilizer Miracle-Gro, which can be used as a bomb component, and read about and discussed making bombs. (read more)

(Via New York Daily News) A pair of terrorist wannabes with Al Qaeda ties pondered bombing a police funeral after the massive turnout of 20,000 law enforcement mourners for an executed NYPD cop, authorities said Thursday.

Former Queens roommates Noelle Velentzas, 28, and Asia Siddiqui, 31, were due in Brooklyn Federal Court for conspiring to detonate homemade explosives “and receive Allah’s blessing,” according to a federal criminal complaint.

The two friends were ordered held without bail after an afternoon hearing where neither said a word.

Velentzaz — the married mom of a 5-year-old girl — wore a black hijab into the courtroom. The single Siddiqui was dressed in a green polo shirt with a yellow crest, worn over a long-sleeved black shirt. (read more)