Authorities have received a "credible" threat that the New York City subway may be the target of a terrorist attack "in the coming days."
Fox News reports the threat involved 19 suitcase bombs to be placed in the subway system.
The threat was announced by Mayor Michael Bloomberg at a news conference:
"This is the first time we have had a threat with this level of specificity," Bloomberg said.
ABC News reports that intelligence learned of the threat after three Iraqi insurgents were arrested in a raid several days ago:
According to sources in intelligence, emergency services and police headquarters, the intelligence community developed information that the threat may have involved pharmacists from Iraq coming to New York for some kind of chemical attack targeting the subways.
Three insurgents, one or more of whom are pharmacists, were arrested during a raid by a U.S. military and intelligence community team, sources said, and one of those caught disclosed the threat. Because it slipped out during the arrest, the plot was deemed credible.
After several days of work, sources said, the NYPD became increasingly concerned because it was unable to discredit the initial source and additional information from the source.
The 19 operatives were to place improvised explosive devices in the subways using briefcases, according to two sources.
New York Newsday reports hundreds of officers were dispatched early this afternoon to thwart the attack:
Scores of officers from various narcotics units are being called in to assist in patrolling the subways, with many expected to convene first at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Police sources also said that cops were expected to be kept on 12-hour tours over the weekend.
A law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that the threat is "specific to place, time and method," and that the method is bombing.
The New York Times reports that in the last couple of days, a C.I.A.-F.B.I. operation in Iraq had taken two people there into custody in an effort to disrupt the plot:
"Classified operations have partially disrupted this threat," Mark Mershon, assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations' New York office, said at the news conference. "The F.B.I. and other U.S. personnel continue to work around the clock. Nothing that has surfaced in that investigation has corroborated an actual threat to the city."
Mr. Mershon said the threat could be "resolved in the coming days," but he did not explain what he meant.
There isn't a whole lot to be said about this. After Madrid and London, such threats can't be dismissed. We just have to carry on, pray and hope for the best.
Comments