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New York city on alert for subway attack

Posted on: Thursday, 6 October 2005, 17:46 CDT

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."

Source: REUTERS

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