ISIS plot to bomb subways in US, Paris: New York beefs up security

Iraq's prime minister, Haidar al-Abadi, said Thursday that captured Islamic State militants during interrogation told intelligence agents that there are plans by the militants to bomb subways in the United States and Paris, and in a reaction, the New York Police Department have beefed  up subway  security.

New York Post reports that hundreds of extra cops were put on overtime, with a heavy presence around Yankee Stadium as throngs of New Yorkers took the subways to see Derek Jeter’s last game in The Bronx.

The report said counter-terrorism cars — called critical-response vehicles — were deployed at transit hubs, along with vapor-detection dogs to sniff out explosives.

New York is home to America’s largest subway system.

Al-Abadi said he was told of the purported plot by officials in Baghdad, and that it was the work of foreign fighters who had joined the Islamic State group in Iraq, including French and U.S. nationals but French and American officials said that they had no information of the attack apart from the Iraq PM’s warning

A senior Obama administration official told Associated Press that no one in the U.S. government is aware of such a plot, adding that the claim was never brought up in meetings with Iraqi officials this week in New York. President Barack Obama met with Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi on Wednesday.

A number of French officials contacted by AP said they knew of no plot.

Speaking to reporters near the United Nations where he is attending the annual General Assembly, he said: "Today, while I'm here 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 U.S. They are not Iraqis. Some of them are French, some of them are Americans. But they are in Iraq."