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Osama bin Laden |
In January 2003, British intelligence agents and weapons researchers
uncovered evidence in Herat, Afghanistan, that led them to believe that
Al Qaeda had succeeded in building a small dirty bomb. The evidence
included detailed diagrams and documents stored on computers. Neither
the actual device nor details on the radioactive material used to make
the bomb have been found. However, captured Al Qaeda
lieutenant Abu Zubaydah also claimed that the device existed.
IAEA and UN experts previously recovered several
unguarded radiation sources, including a powerful cobalt source, from a
former hospital and university labs in Kabul. Afghanistan's Taliban
regime could have provided Al Qaeda with radioactive sources from these
types of medical devices. In addition, the idea of Al Qaeda pursuing a
radiological bomb is not new. In June 2002, Jose Padilla was arrested in
the United States. Suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda, officials believe Padilla was conducting
research and scouting potential dirty bomb targets.
