NYC mayor defends publicizing threat
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-08 08:46

A federal official said one of the suspects arrested in Iraq apparently told interrogators that more than a dozen people were involved in the plot, and that they were of various nationalities, including Afghans, Syrians and Iraqis. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.

In Baghdad, spokesmen for the U.S. military and the U.S. Embassy declined to comment on the arrest.

Homeland Security's Doyle said the government has no information that the fourth person possibly connected to the plot "is either here or even exists."

On the streets of New York, more officers were visible in several parts of the city.

"Hopefully, God's with me and I'll be OK," Vinnie Stella said as he entered the subway at Penn Station.

Rob Johnson, 30, said he was not worried: "The cops have it under control."

Rob McGoey, who grew up in New York and now lives in Nebraska, said Friday was the first time he had been stopped and searched. "It was never this way when I lived here," he said. "It's scary, actually."

Authorities briefly closed part of Penn Station after a discarded soda bottle filled with a green liquid was found during morning rush hour. The police commissioner said it was a type of drain-cleaner and not a threat.

An estimated 4.5 million passengers ride the New York subway each day. The system has more than 468 stations. In July, the city began random subway searches in the wake of the train bombings in London.