K-9s to sweep Metro after deadly Moscow subway bombings

Metro Transit K-9 teams will randomly sweep stations and rail yards for explosives Monday as part of heightened security efforts in the wake of suicide bombings in Moscow’s subway system that killed at least 37 people and injured more than 60 others, authorities said.

The increased vigilance comes only a day after Metro conducted a drill that simulated an explosion on a below-ground train between the Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom stations. It also comes on a day when Metro is hosting a drill simulating a bus explosion in the parking lot of RFK stadium.

The exercises, which Metro said are only coincidentally being held in the wake of the Moscow attacks, are funded by a $1.2 million U.S. Department of Homeland Security Urban Area Security Initiative grant.

Metro also recently expanded its anti-terrorism unit by 20 officers using a $9.56 million Transit Security Grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The team is meant to deter terrorists from picking Metro as a target by using increased surveillance and patrols.

-- Matt Zapotosky