LOS ANGELES, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Two founders of a prison-based terrorist organization pleaded guilty on Friday of conspiracy to launch terror attacks against the United States.

    Levar Haney Washington, 28, who also pleaded guilty of conspiracy to possess a firearm, faces up to 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney on April 28 next year.

    Another convict, Kevin James, 31, who also pleaded guilty of planning terror attacks against the United States, could be sentenced for 20 years when he goes before the judge on March 31.

    Both Washington and James were members of a radical Islamic organization known as Jam'iyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh (JIS), which was run by James while incarcerated at California State Prison-Sacramento.

    James admitted during his court appearance that he founded JIS in prison based on his interpretation of Islam, and that he preached targeting the U.S. government, Israel and Jewish people in retaliation for their policies regarding Moslems.

    He said Moslems must be allowed to rule themselves under Islamic law and he described "Jihad as the only true anti-terrorism" act, Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas McCormick said in reading a "factual basis" for the guilty plea.

    James also wrote, McCormick said, "Nor are we concerned with loss of life ... for martyrdom is automatic paradise."

    James called on recruits to acquire firearms with silencers and to find contacts to either acquire explosives or to learn how to make bombs, the type that can be detonated from a distance, McCormick said.

    Washington and James were among four men indicted in 2005 for what authorities said was a plot to attack American military facilities, Israeli government offices and synagogues in the Los Angeles area.

    The third man, Gregory Patterson, is scheduled to plead guilty on Monday, while the fourth man, Hammad Samana, has been declared incompetent to stand trial and is confined to a hospital, McCormick said.

    Authorities said the defendants intended to finance their alleged activities by robbing gas stations.

    All but Samana are U.S. citizens, while Samana is a legal U.S. resident from Pakistan.

    U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien called the prosecution of JIS "a landmark case in Southern California."

    "At the time of their arrest, it appeared they were on the verge of an attack here in Los Angeles," O'Brien said, adding that the plot had reached an "advanced level."

    JIS also planned to issue a news release after their first fatal attack, he said.