UK official: Al Qaeda seeking nuclear technology

A senior British official said on Monday that Al Qaeda is trying to acquire the technology that would enable it to use a nuclear device to attack Western targets. "We know the aspiration is there. We know attempts to gather materials are there, we know that attempts to gather technology are there," she said to reporters.

Eliza Manningham-Buller, head of intelligence agency MI5, said last week young British Muslims were being groomed to become suicide bombers and her agents were tracking some 1,600 suspects, most of whom were British-born and linked to al Qaeda in Pakistan. (Reuters)