New York's security level goes orange after word of subway terrorist threat

The threat involved the possibility terrorists would pack a baby stroller with explosives

Police have launched more intense searches of baggage, briefcases and pushchairs on New York City's subway after receiving a specific threat of a possible attack on the network within days. The threat came a day before the three-month anniversary of the July 7 terror attacks on London which killed 52 people in four suicide bombings on the Tube. Homeland Security officials in Washington, however, downplayed the threat, saying it was of "doubtful credibility."

The threat involved the possibility terrorists would pack a baby stroller with explosives, among other potential subway bombing methods, a law enforcement official said. “We have never had before a specific threat to our subway system ... with this level of specificity," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. New York has been on high alert since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre and bolstered security after the July 7 attack on London's transit system that killed 56 people. Those bombers carried explosives in backpacks. During the evening rush hour, police were highly visible in New York's more than century-old subway system, which carries 4.5 million riders daily. At Manhattan's Union Square, uniformed police conducted random searches, standing at tables with signs reading, "Backpacks and other containers subject to inspection."

No one in New York has been arrested or detained yet, Bloomberg said.

An estimated 4.5 million passengers ride the New York subway on an average weekday. The system has more than 468 subway stations. New York's security level remained at orange, the same level it has stayed at since 11 September.

Source: agencies