The 2011 Manhattan terrorism plot was a conspiracy by two Muslim Arab-Americans to bomb various targets in New York City, United States.
According to authorities, Ahmed Ferhani and Mohamed Mamdouh planned to attack an unspecified synagogue, possibly a church, and the Empire State Building.
In December 2012, Ferhani pleaded guilty to terrorism conspiracy and terrorism-related weapons possession charges and was sentenced to 10 years in state prison.
On May 12, 2011, New York City law enforcement officials announced that two suspects, Ahmed Ferhani and Mohamed Mamdouh, had been arrested for trying to purchase weapons, including three pistols and hand grenades, as part of a terror plot to attack an unspecified Manhattan synagogue.
[citation needed] According to law enforcement officials, this was the thirteenth plot thwarted against the city since the September 11 attacks.
[3] According to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, the authorities decided to act because Ferhani's "plans became bigger and more violent with every passing week".
[6][7] In a December 2012 plea bargain, Ferhani pleaded guilty to terrorism conspiracy and terrorism-related weapons possession charges[8] and was sentenced to ten years in prison.
[10] The two suspects, 26-year-old Ahmed Ferhani and 20-year-old Mohamed Mamdouh, are both Arab-Muslim immigrants from North Africa that live in East Elmhurst, Queens.
[11] At the time of attack, Ferhani was unemployed but previously worked as a cosmetic sales clerk at Saks Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.