NEW YORK, April 25 (UPI) -- New York City subway riders are now protected by police officers armed with MP5 submachine guns and accompanied by bomb-sniffing dogs, authorities said.
New York Newsday reported Friday that five or six teams of six police officers and a dog will patrol heavily used subway stations and lines as part of Operation TORCH, or Transit Operational Response with Canine and Heavy Weapons.
"We're doing everything that we reasonably can to prevent an attack," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly was quoted as saying.
The beefed-up security will be paid for by a $151 million grant the city received from the Department of Homeland Security to help prevent another terrorist attack.
The special patrols will resemble those in effect when authorities suspected that terrorists might strike, the newspaper said.
Similar patrols work above ground, patrolling near landmark buildings and in heavily trafficked parts of the city, such as by Wall Street and the Empire State Building.
