2 NYC women caught in 2015 terrorism sting plead guilty

NEW YORK (AP) - Two New York City women have pleaded guilty to charges they studied how to make bombs for a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.

Noelle Velentzas and Asia Siddiqui entered the pleas on Friday in federal court in Brooklyn.

The women were arrested in 2015 in a sting operation involving a New York Police Department undercover officer posing as a convert to Islam. The female officer befriended the defendants in 2013 and wore a wire to record their conversations.

Prosecutors said Velentzas and Siddiqui were inspired by the Islamic State group to research and shop for bomb components for an attack on military and law enforcement targets.

The women face up to 20 years in prison on terrorism charges but the term could be shorter under sentencing guidelines.