NEW YORK, Nov 18: The New York city police on Monday arrested two Hispanic teenagers after they attacked two Pakistani brothers as they left a mosque in Corona (Queens). Both were charged with hate crime assault and aggravated harassment, police said.

The two attackers identified as Alex Batista and Ivan Pracido were part of a gang which attacked the two Pakistanis shouting:”you are Taliban.”

Pakistani community leaders in Queens called the worst instance of bias-related violence in that area since a flurry of such incidents shortly after Sept 11, 2001.

The incident began on Friday night after the high school students finished praying at Al Falah Masjid on National Street, the brothers said.

At first, the brothers, Javed and Junaid, thought the racial slurs they heard were someone’s idea of a joke.

But a few minutes later the Hispanic boys who had yelled at them returned with five of their friends.

“They started pushing me and my brother around. They threw the first punch and I fought back. I think they really meant to pick a fight,” Javad said.