Four men charged with trying to blow up New York synagogues and shoot down military planes were caught on videotape plotting and praying together before setting out to launch the attack, a prosecutor said Tuesday in opening statements at their trial.

"You will see them pray for success," Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Hickey told jurors in federal court in Manhattan.

The prosecutor said that alleged mastermind James Cromitie also was taped complaining that "the best target has been hit" — a reference to the World Trade Center. But the defendant also suggested the George Washington Bridge, a military transport plane and especially a synagogue were worthy targets for jihad.

"I hate those Jewish bastards," the prosecutor quoted Cromitie as saying. "I would like to get a synagogue for me personally."

Cromitie's lawyer countered by calling the 100 hours of videotape from the sting operation a "movie" produced and directed by a paid FBI informant assigned to root out radicals at a mosque in Newburgh, a small town north of New York City.