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Radioactive material stolen in Iraq raises security fears

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Posted: February 18th, 2016

The Iraqi government is searching for a case of radioactive material that was stolen last November. Reuters reports that the material, which was used to test for flaws in oil and gas pipelines, was taken from a storage facility near Basra. There are concerns that terrorist groups like the Islamic State could gain access to the radioactive material and use it to create a “dirty bomb” type weapon. Although there is no evidence that that has occurred, Brigadier General (RET.) JB Burton, the former commander of the 20th CBRNE Command, told The Cipher Brief that “ISIS’s ability to recruit or coerce scientists with the right technological skills suggests that the organization has the capability now to develop WMD-like CBRNE weapons for employment.”

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Categorized as:Middle East ReportingTagged with:

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