Huge rise in seizures of material for 'dirty bomb'

International seizures of smuggled radioactive materials - which could be used to make a terrorist "dirty bomb" - have doubled in four years.

Figures from the International Atomic Energy Agency show more than 300 seizures of the dangerous materials since 2002 - primarily in Europe, reports say.

The statistics appear to suggest a sharp increase in attempts to traffic radioactive materials which could end up in terrorist hands.

The revelations come as al Qaeda is known to be stepping up its efforts to get hold of a radioactive device.

There were 103 cases of illicit trafficking last year, almost double the figure for 2002 (58), the report said. The number of attempts rose to 90 in 2003 and as high as 130 in 2004, the report added.

Western security agencies thwarted 16 attempts to smuggle plutonium or uranium last year alone, it was claimed.

The report said scientists were warning that traffickers looking to supply terrorists could turn to hospital X-ray equipment as a source of radioactive material.

Investigators believe that the smugglers, who come mainly from the former Eastern bloc countries, are interested only in making a quick fortune: they fear that the criminals may have no qualms about selling to jihadist groups.

Most undercover operations and recent seizures have been kept secret to protect the activities of Western security services, The Times reported today.

Rigorous controls on nuclear processors, particularly with Russia helping to stop trafficking of enriched plutonium and uranium, have limited the smugglers' access to weapons-grade nuclear materials.

But medical and laboratory sources, including waste, remain vulnerable. Such radioactive material can be used to make a dirty bomb.

That type of device combines a conventional explosive, such as dynamite, with radioactive material such as spent nuclear fuel - highly enriched uranium and plutonium.

In most cases the conventional explosive would kill more bystanders, but the dispersion of the radioactive material would have a hugely damaging "fear" factor.

Olli Heinonen, deputy director-general of the IAEA, which monitors trafficking and inspects nuclear plants to audit their radioactive materials, said: "A dirty bomb is something that needs to be taken seriously. We need to be prepared for anything because anything could happen.

"Terrorists look for the weakest link."

Al Qaeda has made no secret of its desire to obtain a dirty bomb.

Last month its leader in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, called for scientists to join it and experiment with radioactive devices for use against coalition troops.

Even before the 2001 terror attacks, Osama bin Laden invited two Pakistani atomic scientists to visit a training camp in Afghanistan to discuss how to build a bomb using stolen plutonium.

Captured al Qaeda leaders have since confessed to the CIA their attempts to smuggle a radioactive device into the US.