Suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda terrorist network may be closer than previously believed to obtaining the materials needed for a “dirty bomb,” intelligence sources recently concluded.

Captured al-Qaeda members and materials gathered in Afghanistan at former al-Qaeda bases have provided further evidence of bin Laden’s nuclear capabilities (see GSN, Nov. 27), the Washington Post reported today.  Also, recent U.S. reports describe a meeting where bin Laden was present while another al-Qaeda member displayed a canister supposedly containing radioactive materials.

The United States last month asked several unnamed key governments to help find the bin Laden associate, who might have entered one of their countries, the Post reported.  The concern over the threat is great enough that several countries increased border security and the use of radiation detectors, according to the Post.

A dirty bomb is a radiological weapon made out of conventional explosives and radioactive material and could contaminate a large area with radiation.

There is no concrete evidence so far that bin Laden or al-Qaeda has built a nuclear or radiological weapon, even though bin Laden has said he is working towards that goal, the Post reported.  A Taliban official said al-Qaeda has no nuclear weapons.  “We do not even have modern weaponry, not to mention weapons of mass destruction,” said former Taliban Ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Salam Zaeef (Washington Post, Dec. 4).

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