(Bloomberg News distributed the following article on May 20.)
PHILADELPHIA — The U.S. is investigating suspicious activity along the New York-Philadelphia-Washington rail link after people were seen carrying out suspected surveillance of commuter lines, ABCNEWS reported.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s office is investigating at least seven instances of suspected surveillance, including filming of trains and rail lines, ABC reported without saying where it obtained the information.
A concealed infrared electronic device was found recently near a rail yard in Philadelphia, the report said. There isn’t any sign of terrorist connection with the device, ABC cited an unidentified spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation as saying in Philadelphia.
The terrorist bombings of commuter trains in Madrid in March that killed 191 people, has forced authorities to take any suspicious activity seriously, ABC cited unidentified security officials as saying. The Department of Homeland Security today ordered Amtrak, the nationwide passenger service, and operators of commuter trains to boost security against terrorism by increasing inspections and the use of bomb-sniffing dogs.