White flags appear on Brooklyn Bridge

NEW YORK -- Someone has replaced two American flags on the Brooklyn Bridge with mysterious white flags.

The white flags -- international symbols of surrender -- fluttered Tuesday from poles on the stone supports that hold cables above the bridge connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan.

One of the flags, viewed via video, appeared to have faint traces of stars and stripes.

Police say it isn't clear what time they were placed there -- or by whom.

Several officers scaled the bridge and were seen lowering the flag on the Manhattan side around 11 a.m. as traffic inched along the bridge.

The bridge is one of the most heavily secured landmarks in the city, constantly monitored by surveillance cameras.

The city's Department of Transportation is referring all queries to the New York Police Department.