Police in New York City have arrested two U.S. residents suspected of plotting terror attacks on the Empire State Building and a synagogue, city officials announced on Thursday.

One of two men complained that the world was treating Muslims "like dogs," according to an AP report.

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 guns and a grenade from an undercover agent, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told a press conference.

Kelly said "the men told undercover officers that they hated Jews and wanted to kill them." It was not immediately known which synagogue they were targeting, Xinhua reported.

There was no indication that the plot orchestrated as part of a sting operation ever put New Yorkers in danger and no evidence that the men were affiliated with any terrorist organization, according to an AP report.

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