FBI arrests two women for planning to bomb New York

NEW YORK: FBI agents arrested two women on Thursday on suspicion of planning terrorist activities in the New York City area. The women are said to have been radicalized by the Islamic State.

US media outlets have reported that the women were planning to detonate a bomb, adding that one was found in possession of multiple propane gas tanks and instructions on how to make an explosive device.

However law enforcement sources claim that the public was not in any danger.

The two women arrested on Thursday are identified as 28 year old Noelle Velentzas and 31 year old Asia Siddiqui, were trying to build an improvised explosive device.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been conducting undercover operations to nab individuals in the United States that have been radicalized by the Islamic State. A similar bust last week yielded the arrest of two cousins in Chicago one of whom was an active member of the Illinois National Guard, reported WABC news.

The cousins arrested earlier were suspected of trying to launch attacks in the US and overseas. The two suspects had been under surveillance for months, authorities have claimed.

A week earlier, a former USAF veteran from New Jersey was indicted for trying to join ISIS.

Earlier this year, three men from New York were arrested for conspiring to join ISIS and also launch attacks in the United States including targeting the US President.

In the last 18 months, nearly 30 people have been charged for trying to join the Islamic State and other terrorist groups in the Middle East.