Two men were arrested today on accusations they tried to purchase weapons as part of a suspected terror plot against a Manhattan synagogue, authorities said today.
Mohammad Mamdouh, 20, and Ahmed Ferhani, 26, both of Queens, were arrested Wednesday night and are expected to be charged under the state’s terrorism laws.
Both men are American citizens and not at all connected to al Qaeda, officials said.
In an unusual move, Manhattan DA Cy Vance’s office decided to prosecute the duo after the FBI declined to get involved.
Ferhani brought three guns and a grenade from an undercover cop, officials said.
The synagogue was located in Manhattan, but never identified by the suspects, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said during a news conference this afternoon.
“They’re treating us like dogs,” Ferhani said once, according to Kelly.
The plot was not in retaliation to last week’s the killing of Osama bin Laden, sources said, since it had been planned before his death.
“Fortunately, long before their aspirations could take hold, New York City police officers were watching them and were in a position to take them into custody, before they could maim and murder innocent New Yorkers,” said Mayor Bloomberg.
One ranking counterterrorism official told The Post that the FBI and the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task Force took a pass on the case because the men clearly did not post a threat to homeland security.
“If there’s a nexus to terrorism, the bureau takes over. They didn’t,” the official said. “That doesn’t mean it’s not criminal — it just means it doesn’t rise to the level of terrorism.”
For a criminal act to be considered “terrorism” in New York, the suspect has to commit a felony with “underlying political motivation.” But that has to be more than just a statement that he doesn’t like a particular group.
Bloomberg said the arrests send a message to anyone looking to harm New Yorkers.
“We are concerned about ‘lone wolves’ acting against New York City in the wake of the killing of bin Laden,” he said. “That’s why the case before us today is so important.”
Ferhani’s brother told The Post that he has no clue why his brother was arrested.
“I don’t know anything. They’re keeping us like totally blank,” said Mohammed Ferhani, who lives in Whitestone, Queens.
“If you want to get information, I suggest the best way to get that is to go to court because that’s how I’m going to get information. That’s all I have to say.”