Police have taken additional measures to ensure the safety of the subway system and New Yorker on Oct. 6.

BEIJING, Oct. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- The alleged threat that led to heightened security on New York subways last week may have been a hoax, according to the Washington Post.

    The newspaper, citing US intelligence and counterterrorism officials, said the event occured as an Iraqi informant attempted to get money in exchange for information and the informant has since disappeared in Iraq.

    The US Defense Department has not been able to locate him, the report said.

    New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg described the informant's claims last week as the "most specific threat" ever received against the city's transit system, leading officials to issue a heightened terrorist alert and blanket the subways with police and National Guard troops.

    US troops in Iraq captured three suspects south of Baghdad who the informant said were involved in the alleged plot.

    But none of the suspects, including two who were given polygraph examinations, corroborated the informant's allegations or appeared to have any connection to a terrorist plot, according to intelligence officials.

    The city lifted the alert Monday after the time period identified by the informant passed without incident.

    Officials with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security were highly skeptical of the threat from the beginning, though federal officials sought to play down any differences with New York authorities.

    The informant, who approached U.S. authorities voluntarily in Baghdad in the past two weeks, detailed an alleged plot by about 20 international conspirators to attack the New York transit system over the weekend with bomb-laden suitcases, baby strollers and other items.

    New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly told reporters that the source of the threat information is not in U.S. custody. A military officer following the case said that the Iraqi informant has broken off communications with American intelligence agents.

    Department of Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke, who called the threat "noncredible" last week, declined to elaborate yesterday.Enditem