The NYPD beefed up subway security Thursday following a dire warning from Iraq’s prime minister that Islamic State terrorists are plotting an attack on transit systems in the US and Paris.
Hundreds of extra cops were put on overtime, with a heavy presence around Yankee Stadium as throngs of New Yorkers took the subway to see Derek Jeter’s last home game.
Counterterrorism cars, called critical response vehicles, were deployed at transit hubs, as well as vapor detection dogs to sniff out explosives.
“People should go about their business as they normally would,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“You may be asked to open your bags. Don’t be alarmed.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said his country’s intelligence division had captured several ISIS fighters, who revealed the plot during interrogations.
“I’m receiving accurate reports from Baghdad that there were arrests of a few elements, and there were networks from inside Iraq to have attacks … on metros of Paris and the US,” he said at a meeting with reporters at the UN General Assembly.
He claimed US officials were warned of the threat — though a senior administration source denied that claim.
“No one in the US government is aware of such a plot, and it was not raised with us in our meetings with Iraq officials here in New York,” the official said.
A White House National Security Council spokeswoman said the plot had not been confirmed yet, and they are reviewing information from their Iraqi partners.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and MTA boss Thomas Prendergast rode the E train on Thursday to reassure New Yorkers, while de Blasio and top cop Bill Bratton took the 5.
De Blasio and Bratton said they met with FBI Assistant Director George Venizelos.
Bratton said the intelligence has not been verified yet, and that al-Abadi’s comments may have been misinterpreted.
“We do not have any confirmed threat directed against New York City or its subway system,” said Bratton.
Cuomo, who said he learned of the threat Thursday afternoon, had already announced a surge of law enforcement at transit hubs Wednesday, due to heightened Middle East tensions.
At Penn Station, there were three bag-check stations on the concourse level and near the subway entrances, as well as a K-9 unit patrolling and two armed soldiers near the Amtrak arrival board.
MTA cops in bulletproof vests and helmets patrolled Grand Central, as well as K-9s and NYPD cops.
Rosemary Vihlein, 30, who works as an officer manager in the Flatiron District, said there was a major cop presence but she wasn’t worried.
“New York gets threats on a daily basis,” she said. “You can’t let it stop you from living your life.”
Rep. Peter King (R-NY) was worried that the prime minister exaggerated the threat.
“If we cry wolf and give out false information, then when a real plot comes, people are not going to listen, and innocent people are going to be killed,” he said.
Additional reporting by Kevin Fasick and Kirstan Conley