UN warns of nuclear terrorism threat

The UN has warned that the nuclear terror threat 'has never been so high'.

The availability of new technology, such as militarised drones and artificial intelligence means that the threat of nuclear terrorism is higher than ever before.

The humanitarian, environmental, and economic consequences of a radiological or nuclear terrorist attack would be global and undermine international peace and security.

An attack could include the use of ‘dirty bombs', strikes on nuclear power plants, the use of stolen nuclear weapons and the detonation of improvised nuclear devices.

The UN categorises the threat of a nuclear terror attack as “low in terms of probability, high in terms of impact.

There has never been a nuclear terrorist attack, but Al-Qaeda for example, has stated its intention to commit acts of nuclear terror. There are also reports of incidents where radiological material has been either smuggled or stolen. Tajikistan reported that 133 tablets containing uranium dioxide were stolen in 2021.

Mauro Miedico, Director of the UN Counter-Terrorism Centre (UNCCT), said: "I think the threat has never been so high as it is today.

“Terrorist groups and individuals engage much more strongly with new technologies. Terrorist groups have recruited experts, including AI specialists, and we have seen the use of drones in terrorist acts. This potentially makes it more possible that they will launch a dirty bomb via drone.”