A Transit Police officer patrols Park Street Station. Photo: Nicolaus Czarnecki/Metro
The MBTA beefed up high-visibility patrols Thursday after Iraq claimed it received credible information that Islamic State militants were plotting an imminent attack on subway systems in the U.S. and Paris.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told reporters at The United Nations that he had received information Thursday morning from militants captured in Iraq that the radical Sunni militant group, commonly known as ISIL, had planned attacks “in the metros of Paris and the U.S.”
Senior U.S. officials aid they had no evidence to back up the claim.
“The MBTA is aware of the recent report pertaining to alleged subway plots in Europe and elsewhere,” Transit Police Chief Paul MacMillan said in an emailed statement Thursday afternoon, adding that T officials were in close contact with local and state police, as well as the Boston Office of the FBI and the Transportation Security Administration.
No direct threat has been made against Boston’s transportation system, though out of an abundance of caution the T planned to increase both high visibility patrols and K-9 patrols.
Passengers, however, were urged to keep their eyes peeled for unusual activity on the T.
“There is no information that either the MBTA or Boston is a specific subject of this report. As always, we ask that customers and employees remain vigilant and report any suspicious incidents to the MBTA Transit Police,” said MacMillan.
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