FBI: No evidence ISIS plotting 'imminent' attack on NYC subway system

Pushing back against initial reports that ISIS was preparing to strike New York City's public transit system, the FBI says it has zero evidence of such a plan.

"The first we heard of this threat is when the press began reporting it," an FBI official tells NBC.

Earlier Thursday, The Associated Press reported that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said ISIS was plotting an "imminent" attack. Yet that report has since been updated to read:

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The NYPD says it is "aware" of the report and is "in close contact" with the FBI to determine the severity of the threat. Meanwhile, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said in a statement the state was "aware of the report and [is] treating it with the utmost precaution."