KEY POINTS:
NEW YORK - Police have intensified patrols of tourist sites, parking garages and the transit system after explosives experts in London defused two potentially devastating car bombs.
New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said critical response teams reinforced crowded areas like Times Square, the theatre district and a square near the Empire State Building that is a magnet for tourists.
"We are increasing our coverage in the transit system," Kelly said. "We have vehicle checkpoints that we have instituted on bridges. We're checking parking garages, asking the owners and doing it ourselves, to look for suspicious vehicles."
The city has twice been attacked by Islamic extremists - a truck bombing of the World Trade Centre in 1993 and the attacks of September 11, 2001 - and has police representatives in hot spots around the world.
"We'll take a little bit of extra precaution," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "We're going to ramp up a little bit, not dramatically."
Bloomberg said the city was awaiting a report from its London-based officer.
British police said the car bombs in London's theatre district could have caused huge loss of life. Petrol, gas and a large quantity of nails were found in a green Mercedes car parked outside a nightclub shortly after 1am. A second car bomb was found shortly after and police said they were linked.
- REUTERS
