Trained dogs to help secure U.S. Super Bowl sites

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Dogs trained to detect explosives, especially the kind used by Islamic extremists, will help secure next month's Super Bowl, the biggest event in the U.S. sporting calendar, law authorities said on Monday.

An undisclosed number of specially trained Labrador Retrievers has been brought to Phoenix to secure venues for the National Football League's championship clash on Feb 3, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said.

ATF agent Thomas Mangan said the dogs have been taught to recognize explosive materials gathered by the ATF from attacks in Afghanistan, Iraq, Britain and Spain.

Among the compounds the dogs have been trained to detect include TATP, or triacetone triperoxide, used by Islamic militants to attack the Madrid and London transport systems in 2004 and 2005, Mangan said.

"There is nothing better at detecting explosives than a canine," he said.

The Super Bowl is usually the biggest television event of the year in the United States. It is always on a Sunday.

Mangan said the dogs will be used to sweep the 73,000-seat University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, the game site, and a number of other related venues around Phoenix.

Security for the event is being coordinated with eight federal, state and local agencies.

"We want to make sure that the only thing that people worry about on the day is whether their team wins or loses," said William Newell, the head ATF agent in Phoenix.

(Reporting by Tim Gaynor, editing by Philip Barbara)