Nuclear terrorism is the hypothetical possibility of terrorists obtaining and using radioactive materials for destructive purposes, such as a “dirty bomb” or a nuclear weapon. Security experts consider it a plausible risk, and some terrorist groups have expressed interest in obtaining materials. There have been few concrete cases of evidence, but in 2006, MI5 warned of a nuclear bomb plot in the UK, and in 2007, Fox News alleged a plot in the US. In 2007, thieves infiltrated a nuclear research facility in South Africa but escaped without enriched uranium.
Nuclear terrorism is the currently hypothetical possibility that terrorists can obtain and use radioactive materials for destructive purposes. For example, a “dirty bomb” (radiological weapon) detonated over a large area could cost tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up. Such a dirty bomb is absolutely not the same as a nuclear bomb: it would simply consist of radioactive material blasted up by a conventional bomb, for the purpose of causing radioactive contamination. Of course, a terrorist nuclear weapon would also be considered a type of nuclear terrorism.
Security experts around the world consider nuclear terrorism a plausible risk and some leading analysts consider it only a matter of time before a dirty bomb or nuclear weapon is detonated by terrorists in a big city. The impact of a dirty bomb would be primarily psychological: several analyzes have found that it would cause few casualties, even though mass panic could be incredibly destructive. A nuclear weapon, however, could kill anywhere from a few hundred to over a million people, depending on its yield and where it is detonated.
Several terrorist groups have expressed interest in obtaining the materials needed to perpetrate nuclear terrorism, especially enriched uranium which could be used to build a nuclear bomb. Osama bin Laden called building a nuclear bomb a holy mission for Al Qaeda. However, other than that, there have been few concrete cases of evidence of extremists planning to obtain materials for nuclear terrorism.
In November 2006, the British intelligence organization MI5 warned that Islamic terrorists were planning to detonate a nuclear bomb in a UK city, but it is unknown how sophisticated this planning was. In June 2007, Fox News alleged that the FBI told the press that Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah was responsible for planning the detonation of nuclear bombs in several US cities, but this has not been independently confirmed.
More tangibly, it was reported by 60 Minutes in November 2007 that the thieves infiltrated the Pelindaba nuclear research facility near Pretoria, South Africa, but escaped without enriched uranium. These thieves have never been identified.
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