U.S.: Mosques searched for ‘dirty bomb’
U.S. News and World Report reveals American government launched a top secret search for terrorists believed to be in possession of ‘dirty bomb’; authorities conducting tests in hundreds of Muslim sites to detect radioactive activity
The U.S. government has launched a top secret search for terrorists believed to be in possession of a ‘dirty bomb’ (radiological weapon which combines radioactive material with conventional explosives), the U.S. News and World Report revealed on its website Friday.
According to the report, authorities are conducting tests in hundreds of Muslim sites, including mosques, homes, businesses and warehouses to detect radioactive activity.
The explosion of a ‘dirty bomb’ leaves considerable radioactive contamination, and since September 11 U.S. intelligence agencies are following the efforts of international terror groups, such as al-Qaeda, to obtain the bomb.
Experts contend that the impact of a ‘dirty bomb’ would be disastrous, with thousands killed and downtowns rendered uninhabitable.
According to the report, in the United States there are thousands of lost, stolen, or discarded radioactive sources - dubbed "orphans" by regulators. No comprehensive registry exists of radioactive devices, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) estimates that in America one new radioactive source is orphaned every day. About 50 of them are found by the public each year, along roadsides, in dumps, and at recycling centers.
'Get out of the way - or you'll lose your job'
The search, which the U.S. News and World Report says is being conducted without a court order, is focusing on Washington D.C., New York, Los Angeles, Detroit, Seattle and Las Vegas.
A recent New York Times report revealed that President George W. Bush secretly authorized telephone taps on terror suspects in the U.S. without court warrants.
The supervision over nuclear-related activity in the U.S. increased in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, when authorities feared al-Qaeda would attempt to organize a nuclear attack in the country. Just two weeks after the attacks the Pentagon received information pointing to the possibility that the terror group smuggled nuclear apparatus into New York, but nothing was found.
However, documents found in an al-Qaeda camp in Afghanistan proved that the Islamic terror network is indeed interested in obtaining nuclear weapons.
According to the report, those who protested the search teams’ entrance into Muslim site without warrants were told that it was a legal procedure and that they may lose their jobs if they object.
