US raises transit terror alert
2005-07-07 21:50
Washington - The US government raised the terror alert a notch to code orange, or high, for the United States' mass transit systems on Thursday, responding to a spate of deadly rush-hour bus and subway bombings in London.
"Obviously we're concerned about the possibility of a copycat attack," said homeland security secretary Michael Chertoff.
The heightened alert will apply to "regional and inter-city passenger rail, subways and metropolitan bus systems", Chertoff said.
Chertoff said that US authorities have "no specific credible evidence" pointing toward an attack in the United States.
At the same time, he said, "we are also asking for increased vigilance" particularly in the US transportation system.
Chertoff told reporters he was not aware of any specific evidence that had foretold the attacks in London hours earlier.
US officials were trying to determine, meanwhile, whether an al-Qaeda cell's claim of responsibility for the London attacks was credible.
A US official speaking on condition of anonymity because events were still unfolding, said analysts were sifting through recent intelligence for evidence that other attacks might be in the works.
A senior US counter-terrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that because the attacks were well-coordinated and appeared fairly sophisticated, they were consistent with al-Qaeda's methodology.
Recent intelligence indicated that London was considered a prime target for extremists, in part because al-Qaeda was having difficulty getting people into the United States, the official said.
- AP