New York city on alert for subway attack

By Daniel Trotta and Christine Kearney

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York City’s subway system is under
its most specific threat of a terrorist attack ever, Mayor
Michael Bloomberg said on Thursday, saying the threat came from
overseas but had already been partially thwarted.

Bloomberg told reporters the FBI had notified him in recent
days about “a specific threat to our subway system” but had not
told the public until now because law enforcement officials
were trying to head off the attack.

The city is stepping up surveillance of the system, the
largest in the United States.

“We have done and will continue to do everything we can to
protect this city,” Bloomberg told a news briefing. “We will
spare no resource, we will spare no expense. We have increased
our police presence on our subways.”

New York has been on high alert for another attack since
the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

“We have never had before a specific threat to our subway
system,” he said, adding “This is the first time we have had a
threat with this level of specificity.”

“It was more specific as to the target, it was more
specific as to timing and some of the sources had more
information that would lead one to believe that it was not the
kind of thing that appears in the intelligence community every
day, Bloomberg said.

The threat “originated from overseas,” he said, declining
to offer anything more specific.

New York police chief Ray Kelly, appearing at the briefing,
said the intelligence available indicated the attack could
occur “in the coming days.”

Kelly said police would be on alert for people with baby
strollers, briefcases and backpacks and that people with such
items should expect to be searched.

City police began searches of passengers’ backpacks and
luggage on the transit system after July bombings on London’s
transit system, but those extra security precautions have been
little in evidence in recent weeks.

The more than century-old subway system carries 4.5 million
riders a day and has about 470 stations.

FBI Assistant Director Mark Mershon said the threat had
been already been partially disrupted by classified operations
this week but said there have been no arrests yet.

“Classified operations have in fact partially disrupted
this threat,” Mershon said. “We continue to work around the
clock to fully resolve this threat.”