Police in New York City have arrested two men suspected of plotting terror attacks on the Empire State Building and a synagogue, it was announced here on Thursday.


Algerian-born Ahmed Ferhani (L), and Moroccan-born Mohammed Mamdouh, stand before a judge during their arraignment in Manhattan criminal court in New York May 12, 2011. New York police arrested Ferhani and Mamdouh in a sting operation after they bought a hand grenade and guns wanting to attack synagogues, kill Jews and blow up the Empire State Building, authorities said on Thursday. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Ahmed Ferhani, 26, a legal U.S. resident of Algerian descent, and Mohamed Mamdouh, a 20-year-old Moroccan-born U.S. citizen, were arrested on Wednesday immediately after purchasing weapons from an undercover agent, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told a press conference.


"The men told undercover officers that they hated Jews and wanted to kill them," Kelly said, adding that one of the two

suspects also expressed interest in blowing up the Empire State Building, a major New York landmark.


It was not immediately known which synagogue they were targeting, Kelly said.


New York City has beefed up security in major public locations in the wake of the killing of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden by U.S. military forces in Pakistan.


VietNamNet/Xinhuanet