Editing Nuclear terrorism

{{Short description|Terrorism involving nuclear material or weapons}}
[[File:110613-F-RM405-040 (5833514570).jpg|thumb|[[United States Army]] soldiers wearing [[NBC suit]]s during a simulated nuclear terrorist attack [[training exercise]] in [[McCormick, South Carolina]] in 2011]]
{{Terrorism}}
{{Nuclear weapons}}
'''Nuclear terrorism''' is the use of a [[nuclear weapon]] or [[radiological weapon]] as an act of [[terrorism]] (i.e., illegal use of violence for a political or religious cause).<ref name="Dossier">{{cite web|title=Nuclear Security Dossier: Nuclear Terrorism Fact Sheet|url=http://www.nuclearsummit.org/nuclear_terrorism_101.html|work=Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs|access-date=28 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117050108/http://nuclearsummit.org/nuclear_terrorism_101.html|archive-date=17 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are many possible terror incidents, ranging in feasibility and scope. These include the [[vulnerability of nuclear plants to attack|sabotage of a nuclear facility]], the intentional irradiation of citizens, or the detonation of a radiological device, colloquially termed a [[dirty bomb]], but consensus is lacking. According to the 2005 United Nations [[International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism]]<ref>{{cite web |year=2005 |title=International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism - Article 1 |url=http://treaties.un.org/doc/db/Terrorism/english-18-15.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804145541/https://treaties.un.org/doc/db/terrorism/english-18-15.pdf |archive-date=4 August 2019 |access-date=13 April 2012 |publisher=United Nations}}</ref> nuclear terrorism is an offense committed if a person unlawfully and intentionally "uses in any way radioactive material … with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury; or with the intent to cause substantial damage to property or to the environment; or with the intent to compel a natural or legal person, an international organization or a State to do or refrain from doing an act."

The possibility of terrorist organizations using nuclear weapons has been identified by nuclear powers and considered since the conception of nuclear weapons and the rise of global terrorism. Nuclear powers collaborate to prevent terror organizations from acquiring nuclear weapons and fuel.

It is considered plausible that terrorists could acquire a nuclear weapon.<ref>{{citation |url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/17529/nuclear_terrorism_faq.html |title=Nuclear Terrorism: Frequently Asked Questions |date=September 26, 2007 |publisher=[[Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs]] |access-date=December 5, 2008 |archive-date=October 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021162639/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/17529/nuclear_terrorism_faq.html |url-status=live }}</ref> As such, countries such as China and the UK have taken steps to restrict access to nuclear weapons and materials. Restrictions being implemented are only a small part of prevention systems that are being researched in countries. Preventing nuclear terrorism is a topic that interests countries who are developing or expanding their nuclear warhead knowledge. Whether it be through policy, summits, or warhead detection and disablement, the idea of threatening another nation is a worry that comes with the notion of war. Nonetheless, despite thefts and trafficking of small amounts of [[fissile]] material, there is no credible evidence that any terrorist group has ever obtained or produced nuclear materials of sufficient quantity or purity to produce a viable nuclear weapon.<ref name="Bunn">Matthew Bunn. [http://www.issues.org/21.2/bunn.html Preventing a Nuclear 9/11] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301014150/http://www.issues.org/21.2/bunn.html |date=2014-03-01 }} ''Issues in Science and Technology'', Winter 2005, p. v.</ref><ref name="today.ucla.edu">Ajay Singh. [http://www.today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/nuclear-terrorism-is-it-real-or-81443.aspx Nuclear terrorism — Is it real or the stuff of 9/11 nightmares?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221184441/http://www.today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/nuclear-terrorism-is-it-real-or-81443.aspx |date=2014-02-21 }} ''UCLA Today'', February 11, 2009.</ref>

==Scope==
{{Main|Vulnerability of nuclear plants to attack}}
Nuclear terrorism could include:
* Acquiring or fabricating a nuclear weapon
* Fabricating a [[dirty bomb]]
* Attacking a [[nuclear reactor]], e.g., by disrupting critical inputs (e.g. water supply)
* Attacking or taking over a nuclear-armed submarine, plane, or base.<ref>{{citation |first=Tilman |last=Ruff |title=Nuclear terrorism |url=http://energyscience.org.au/FS10%20Nuclear%20Terrorism.pdf |publisher=energyscience.org.au |date=November 2006 |access-date=2007-10-30 |archive-date=2019-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302204627/http://energyscience.org.au/FS10%20Nuclear%20Terrorism.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Nuclear terrorism, according to a 2011 report published by the [[Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs]] at [[Harvard University]], can be executed and distinguished via four pathways:<ref name="harvard2011">{{cite web|url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/Joint-Threat-Assessment%20ENG%2027%20May%202011.pdf|title=The U.S.-Russia Joint Threat Assessment on Nuclear Terrorism|year=2011|publisher=Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University|access-date=July 26, 2012|author=Bunn, Matthew, Colonel Yuri Morozov, Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Simon Saradzhyan, William Tobey, Colonel General (ret.) Viktor I. Yesin, and Major General (ret.) Pavel S. Zolotarev|archive-date=May 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528061617/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/Joint-Threat-Assessment%20ENG%2027%20May%202011.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
*The use of a nuclear weapon that has been stolen or purchased on the black market
*The use of a crude explosive device built by terrorists or by nuclear scientists who the terrorist organization has furtively recruited
*The use of an explosive device constructed by terrorists and their accomplices using their own fissile material
*The acquisition of fissile material from a nation-state.

Former U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] called nuclear terrorism "the single most important national security threat that we face". In his first speech to the [[United Nations Security Council|U.N. Security Council]], President Obama stated that "Just one nuclear weapon exploded in a city—be it [[New York City|New York]] or [[Moscow]], [[Tokyo]] or [[Beijing]], [[London]] or [[Paris]]—could kill hundreds of thousands of people", and warned such an attack could "destabilize our security, our economies, and our very way of life".<ref name="obam">{{cite web |url=http://www.hks.harvard.edu/index.php/news-events/news/commentary/failure-to-imagine-worst |title=A Failure to Imagine the Worst |author=Graham Allison |date=January 26, 2010 |work=Foreign Policy |access-date=April 11, 2011 |archive-date=April 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408150255/http://www.hks.harvard.edu/index.php/news-events/news/commentary/failure-to-imagine-worst |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==History==
As early as December 1945, politicians worried about the possibility of smuggling nuclear weapons into the United States, though this was still in the context of a battle between the [[superpower]]s of the [[Cold War]]. Congressmen quizzed the "father of the atomic bomb," [[J. Robert Oppenheimer]], about the possibility of detecting a smuggled atomic bomb:

{{blockquote|Sen. Millikin: We... have mine-detecting devices, which are rather effective... I was wondering if anything of that kind might be available to use as a defense against that particular type of use of atomic bombs.<br />
Dr. Oppenheimer: If you hired me to walk through the cellars of Washington to see whether there were atomic bombs, I think my most important tool would be a screwdriver to open the crates and look. I think that just walking by, swinging a little gadget would not give me the information.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kingsbury |first=Alex |date=February 18, 2007 |title=History's Troubling Lessons |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070218/26nuclear.b.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512013912/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070218/26nuclear.b.htm |archive-date=May 12, 2013 |website=U.S. News & World Report}}</ref>}} This sparked further work on the question of smuggled atomic devices during the 1950s.

Discussions of non-state nuclear terrorism among experts go back at least to the 1970s.  In 1975 ''[[The Economist]]'' warned that "You can make a bomb with a few pounds of plutonium. By the mid-1980s the power stations may easily be turning out 200,000&nbsp;lb of the stuff each year. And each year, unless present methods are drastically changed, many thousands of pounds of it will be transferred from one plant to another as it proceeds through the fuel cycle. The dangers of robbery in transit are evident.... Vigorous co-operation between governments and the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] could, even at this late stage, make the looming perils loom a good deal smaller."<ref>"Nuclear Terrorism," ''The Economist'' (January 25, 1975) p. 38.</ref>  ''[[The New York Times]]'' commented in 1981 that The [[Nuclear Emergency Search Team]]'s "origins go back to the aftershocks of the [[Munich Olympic massacre]] in mid-1972. Until that time, no one in the United States Government had thought seriously about the menace of organized, international terrorism, much less nuclear terrorism. There was a perception in Washington that the value of what is called 'special nuclear material' - plutonium or highly enriched uranium (HEU) - was so enormous that the strict financial accountability of the private contractors who dealt with it would be enough to protect it from falling into the wrong hands. But it has since been revealed that the physical safeguarding of bomb-grade material against theft was almost scandalously neglected."<ref>Larry Collins, "Combating Nuclear Terrorism," ''The New York Times'' (December 14, 1980) Sec. 6 pg. 37.</ref>

This discussion took on a larger public character in the 1980s after [[NBC]] aired ''[[Special Bulletin]]'', a television dramatization of a nuclear terrorist attack on the United States.<ref>Sally Bedell, "A Realistic Film Stirs NBC Debate," ''The New York Times'' (March 17, 1983) B13; Sally Bedell, "NBC Nuclear Terror Show Criticized," '' The New York Times (March 22, 1983) C15; Aljean Harmetz, "NBC Film on Terror Wins Prize," ''The New York Times'' (July 8, 1983) C19.''</ref>  In 1986 a private panel of experts known as the International Task Force on the Prevention of Terrorism released a report urging all nuclear-armed states to beware the dangers of terrorism and work on equipping their nuclear arsenals with [[permissive action links]].  "The probability of nuclear terrorism," the experts warned, "is increasing and the consequences for urban and industrial societies could be catastrophic."<ref>D. Costello, "Experts Warn on Nuclear Terror," ''Courier-Mail'' (June 26, 1986).</ref>

== Acquisition ==
Nuclear weapons may be acquired by non-state organisations such as terrorist groups via purchase or theft, either in whole or in part, from state entities. State involvement may be either intentional&mdash;as an act of policy&mdash;or inadvertent&mdash;through failure to exercise sovereignty within their territory over nuclear weapons or materials with which to build them. [[Robert Litwak]], vice-president of the [[Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars]], deemed it unlikely that terrorist groups would be able to effectively create nuclear weapons without [[enriched uranium]]. Nevertheless, he speculated that [[ISIS]]'s control over much of Syria and Iraq, and therefore much of their infrastructure, could lead to them developing "state-like WMD ([[weapons of mass destruction]]) capabilities". Litwak therefore stated that the United States's primary strategy had been to curtail ISIS's territorial gains to deny them the capabilities of a state.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Litwak |first=Robert S. |date=2017-01-02 |title=Recalibrating Deterrence to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0163660x.2017.1302739 |journal=The Washington Quarterly |volume=40 |issue=1 |pages=55–70 |doi=10.1080/0163660x.2017.1302739 |s2cid=157982040 |issn=0163-660X}}</ref>

== Prevention ==
[[File:GTRI Announcement (02816962) (49825173727).jpg|thumb|The announcement of the United States' [[Global Threat Reduction Initiative]] at the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]]'s headquarters in [[Vienna]], Austria in 2004]]
Unlike state-level use of nuclear weapons, retaliation is not likely to deter terrorist groups from the use of nuclear weapons, so the doctrine of [[mutually assured destruction]] does not apply.<ref name=":2" /> 

Denial of access to nuclear materials is thus the approach taken by interested nations. Techniques include import and export restrictions, physical security at nuclear facilities to prevent theft, and consolidation or elimination of stockpiles to reduce the security perimeter.<ref name=":2" /> The United States subsidizes security for nuclear materials and dismantlement of nuclear weapons through the [[Cooperative Threat Reduction]] and [[Global Threat Reduction Initiative]] programs.

Different countries have their own proposals for how to secure nuclear materials. In China, during 2020 there was a proposal for security measures to be developed surrounding radioactive material transportation.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Zeng |first1=Tiejun |last2=Yang |first2=Xiaohua |last3=Wan |first3=Yaping |last4=Mao |first4=Yu |last5=Liu |first5=Zhenghai |date=2020-09-11 |title=Vehicle Transport Security System Based on the Self-Security Intelligence of Radioactive Material |journal=Science and Technology of Nuclear Installations |language=en |volume=2020 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.1155/2020/3507167 |doi-access=free |issn=1687-6075}}</ref> Similarly, the UK had an approach in 2021. A UK review was published surrounding the use of radiation detection systems with shipping container cargo, and how future systems should be designed as to implement improved detection technologies without negatively impacting the shipping industry.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Connolly |first1=Euan L. |last2=Martin |first2=Peter G. |date=September 2021 |title=Current and Prospective Radiation Detection Systems, Screening Infrastructure and Interpretive Algorithms for the Non-Intrusive Screening of Shipping Container Cargo: A Review |journal=Journal of Nuclear Engineering |language=en |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=246–280 |doi=10.3390/jne2030023 |doi-access=free |issn=2673-4362}}</ref>

Efforts to secure nuclear materials are also made by threatening to punish any country that uses, sells, or gives away nuclear weapons or materials.<ref name=":2" /> One example of this is when U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] threatened North Korea with consequences if they were to engage in such behavior.<ref>{{Citation |title=North Korea's Nuclear Programme |date=2012-10-12 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203168325-16 |work=How Nuclear Weapons Spread |pages=94–98 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9780203168325-16 |isbn=9780203168325 |access-date=2022-05-01}}</ref>

=== Organizations to combat nuclear terrorism ===
The [[Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism]] (GICNT) is an international partnership of 88 nations and 5 official observers working to improve capacity on a national and international level for prevention, detection, and response to a nuclear terrorist event.  Partners join the GICNT by endorsing the Statement of Principles, a set of broad nuclear security objectives.  GICNT partner nations organize and host workshops, conferences, and exercises to share best practices for implementing the Statement of Principles.  The GICNT also holds Plenary meetings to discuss improvements and changes to the partnership.

[[The World Institute for Nuclear Security]] is an organization which seeks to prevent nuclear terrorism and improve world nuclear security. It works alongside the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]].  WINS was formed in 2008, less than a year after a break-in at the [[Pelindaba]] nuclear facility in [[South Africa]], which contained enough [[enriched uranium]] to make several nuclear bombs.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}

==Militant groups==
[[Nuclear weapon]]s materials on the [[black market]] are a global concern,<ref name="wash">Jay Davis. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032402291_pf.html After A Nuclear 9/11] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013014712/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032402291_pf.html |date=2018-10-13 }} ''The Washington Post'', March 25, 2008.</ref><ref>Brian Michael Jenkins. [https://www.rand.org/commentary/2008/09/11/CNN.html A Nuclear 9/11?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408153418/https://www.rand.org/blog/2008/09/a-nuclear-911.html |date=2020-04-08 }} ''CNN.com'',  September 11, 2008.</ref> and there is concern about the possible detonation of a small, crude nuclear weapon by a [[terrorist group|militant group]] in a major city, with significant loss of life and property.<ref name="kittrie">[[Orde Kittrie]]. [http://students.law.umich.edu/mjil/article-pdfs/v28n2-kittrie.pdf Averting Catastrophe: Why the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty is Losing its Deterrence Capacity and How to Restore It] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607150719/http://students.law.umich.edu/mjil/article-pdfs/v28n2-kittrie.pdf |date=2010-06-07 }} May 22, 2007, p. 338.</ref><ref name="nyt">Nicholas D. Kristof. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE0D7143EF933A25750C0A9629C8B63 A Nuclear 9/11] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408153356/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/10/opinion/a-nuclear-9-11.html |date=2020-04-08 }} ''The New York Times'', March 10, 2004.</ref>

It is feared that a terrorist group could detonate a [[dirty bomb]], a type of [[radiological weapon]]. A dirty bomb is made of any radioactive source and a conventional explosive. There would be no nuclear blast and likely no fatalities, but the radioactive material is dispersed and can cause extensive [[fallout]] depending on the material used.<ref name="nyt" /> There are other radiological weapons called radiological exposure devices where an explosive is not necessary. A radiological weapon may be very appealing to terrorist groups as it is highly successful in instilling fear and panic among a population (particularly because of the threat of [[radiation poisoning]]) and would contaminate the immediate area for some period of time, disrupting attempts to repair the damage and subsequently inflicting significant economic losses.

===Al-Qaeda===
From its foundation in 1988, [[al-Qaeda]] had a military subcommittee on nuclear weapons and tried to purchase fissile material from [[Post-Soviet states|former Soviet Union]] and its former [[Eastern Bloc|satellite states]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Wright|first=Lawrence|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/761224415|title=The looming tower : Al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11|date=2011|isbn=978-0-525-56436-2|edition=First Vintage books edition, [revised]|location=New York|oclc=761224415}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Mowatt-Larssen|first=Rolf|title=Al Qaeda's Pursuit of Weapons of Mass Destruction|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2010/01/25/al-qaedas-pursuit-of-weapons-of-mass-destruction/|access-date=2021-06-14|website=Foreign Policy|date=25 January 2010|language=en-US|archive-date=2017-11-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114211242/http://foreignpolicy.com/2010/01/25/al-qaedas-pursuit-of-weapons-of-mass-destruction/|url-status=live}}</ref> After al-Qaeda merged with [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]]'s [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad]] the new Shura Council held internal discussions on nuclear weapons, and in 1998 [[Osama bin Laden]] issued a [[fatwa]] declaring that it was his religious duty to acquire and use nuclear weapons.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Salama|first1=Sammy|last2=Hansell|first2=Lydia|date=November 2005|title=Does Intent equal Capability? Al-Qaeda and Weapons of Mass Destruction|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10736700600601236|journal=The Nonproliferation Review|language=en|volume=12|issue=3|pages=615–653|doi=10.1080/10736700600601236|s2cid=18145118|issn=1073-6700|access-date=2021-06-14|archive-date=2023-02-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212135158/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10736700600601236|url-status=live}}</ref> Al-Qaeda defector [[Jamal al-Fadl]] told the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] that bin Laden paid a [[Sudanese Armed Forces]] general $1.5 million for a cylinder of [[cinnabar]] which he believed contained [[Nuclear programme of South Africa|South African uranium]] in 1993.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> In April 2001, a Bulgarian businessman claimed bin Laden offered to buy fissile material from him in a meeting near the [[China–Pakistan border|China-Pakistan border]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2008-08-22|title=Julian Borger on what has happened to all the radioactive material that has gone missing since the end of the cold war|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/aug/23/nuclear.terrorism.united.nations|access-date=2021-06-14|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=2021-06-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614033244/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/aug/23/nuclear.terrorism.united.nations|url-status=live}}</ref>

In bin Laden's only interview with a journalist after the [[September 11 attacks]], he and al-Zawahiri claimed that al-Qaeda possessed readily usable chemical and nuclear weapons. It is generally believed, including by the interviewer [[Hamid Mir]], that they were bluffing and that it would have been extremely unlikely for al-Qaeda to have procured weapons of mass destruction at that time.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bergen, Peter L., 1962-|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/769258354|title=Manhunt : the ten-year search for Bin Laden : from 9/11 to Abbottabad|date=2012|publisher=Doubleday Canada|isbn=978-0-385-67677-9|location=Toronto|pages=36–37|oclc=769258354|access-date=2020-06-19|archive-date=2020-06-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621034125/https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/769258354|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to ''Bunn & Wier'', bin Laden requested a ruling (a fatwa), and was subsequently informed via a cleric of Saudi Arabia during 2003, of it being in accordance with [[Sharia|Islamic law]] for him to use a nuclear device against civilians if it was the only course of action available to him in a situation of defending Muslims against the actions of the U.S. military.<ref name="M. BUNN & A. WIER">{{cite book|url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/bunnwier.pdf|author1=M. BUNN|author2=A. WIER|name-list-style=amp|title=The Seven Myths of Nuclear Terrorism|publisher=[[Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs]]|access-date=2015-08-08|archive-date=2020-04-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408153223/http://www.belfercenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/files/bunnwier.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to leaked diplomatic documents, al-Qaeda can produce radiological weapons, after sourcing nuclear material and recruiting rogue scientists to build "dirty bombs".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.theage.com.au/world/alqaeda-moving-world-toward-nuclear-911-20110202-1adqd.html |title=al-Qaeda moving world toward 'nuclear 9/11' |date=February 3, 2011 |work=The Age |location=Melbourne |access-date=January 31, 2015 |archive-date=April 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408150242/https://www.theage.com.au/world/alqaeda-moving-world-towards-nuclear-911-20110202-1adqd.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Al-Qaeda, along with some [[North Caucasus]] terrorist groups that seek to establish an [[Islamic Caliphate]] in [[Russia]], have consistently stated they seek nuclear weapons and have tried to acquire them.<ref name="harvard2011" /> Al-Qaeda has sought nuclear weapons for almost two decades by attempting to purchase stolen nuclear material and weapons and has sought nuclear expertise on numerous occasions. Osama bin Laden stated that the acquisition of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction is a “religious duty.”<ref name="harvard2010">{{cite web|url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/all-stocks-of-weapons-usable-material-eng.pdf|title=All Stocks of Weapons-Usable Nuclear Materials Worldwide Must be Protected Against Global Terrorist Threats|year=2010|publisher=Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University|access-date=July 26, 2012|author1=Bunn, Matthew|author2=Col-Gen. E.P. Maslin|name-list-style=amp|archive-date=April 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408153347/https://www.belfercenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/files/all-stocks-of-weapons-usable-material-eng.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> While pressure from a wide range of counter-terrorist activity has hampered Al-Qaeda's ability to manage such a complex project, there is no sign that it has jettisoned its goals of acquiring [[fissile material]]. Statements made as recently as 2008 indicate that Al-Qaeda's nuclear ambitions are still very strong.<ref name="harvard2011" />{{update inline|date=July 2021}} The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism issued a report that al-Qaeda would attempt to use.

===Islamic State===
The [[Islamic State of Iraq and Syria]] (ISIS) has demonstrated ambition to use weapons of mass destruction.<ref name="NBC News">{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/smugglers-tried-sell-nuclear-material-isis-ap-investigation-n439851|title=Smugglers Tried to Sell Nuclear Material to ISIS|publisher=NBC News|date=7 October 2015|access-date=17 April 2020|archive-date=8 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408150248/http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/smugglers-tried-sell-nuclear-material-isis-ap-investigation-n439851|url-status=live}}</ref> Although the chances of them obtaining a nuclear bomb are small, the group has been trying/suspected of trying to obtain a nuclear [[dirty bomb]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-cirincione/the-risk-of-a-nuclear-isi_b_8259978.html|title=The Risk of a Nuclear ISIS Grows|work=the Huffington post|date=8 October 2015|access-date=20 February 2020|archive-date=8 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408150253/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-cirincione/the-risk-of-a-nuclear-isi_b_8259978.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2014, after the [[fall of Mosul]], ISIS militants captured nuclear materials from [[Mosul University]]. In a letter to UN Secretary-General [[Ban Ki-moon]], Iraq's UN Ambassador [[Mohamed Ali Alhakim]] said that the materials had been kept at the university and "can be used in manufacturing weapons of mass destruction". [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] spokeswoman Gill Tudor said that the seized materials were "low grade and would not present a significant safety, security or nuclear proliferation risk".<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|last1=Cowell|first1=Alan|title=Low-Grade Nuclear Material Is Seized by Rebels in Iraq, U.N. Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/11/world/middleeast/iraq.html?_r=0|access-date=15 July 2014|work=The New York Times|date=10 July 2014|archive-date=8 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408150244/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/11/world/middleeast/iraq.html?_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="The Telegraph">{{cite news|last1=Sherlock|first1=Ruth|title=Iraq jihadists seize 'nuclear material', says ambassador to UN|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10958388/Iraq-jihadists-seize-nuclear-material-says-ambassador-to-UN.html|access-date=15 July 2014|work=The Telegraph|date=10 July 2014|location=London|archive-date=8 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408150245/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10958388/Iraq-jihadists-seize-nuclear-material-says-ambassador-to-UN.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 2015, it was reported that [[Moldova]]n authorities working with the FBI had stopped four attempts from 2010 to 2015 by gangs with suspected connections to Russia's [[Intelligence agencies of Russia|intelligence services]] that sought to sell radioactive material to ISIS and other Middle Eastern extremists. The last reported case came in February 2015 when a smuggler with a large amount of radioactive caesium specifically sought a buyer from ISIS. Due to poor relations between Russia and the West, it is difficult to ascertain if smugglers succeeded in selling radioactive material originating from Russia to Islamist terrorists and elsewhere.<ref name="NBC News" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34461732|title=Nuclear smuggling deals 'thwarted' in Moldova|work=BBC News|date=7 October 2015|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-date=19 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819104712/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34461732|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/smugglers-tried-to-sell-nuclear-material-to-isis-a6684051.html|title=FBI foils smugglers' plot to sell nuclear material to Isis|work=the independent|date=7 October 2015|access-date=6 September 2017|archive-date=12 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812085814/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/smugglers-tried-to-sell-nuclear-material-to-isis-a6684051.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2016, it was reported that a senior Belgian nuclear official was being monitored by ISIS suspects linked to the [[November 2015 Paris attacks]] leading the Belgian Federal Agency for Nuclear Control to suspect that ISIS was planning on abducting the official to obtain nuclear materials for a dirty bomb.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/brussels-attacks-belgium-fears-isis-seeking-to-make-dirty-nuclear-bomb-a6951661.html|title=Brussels attacks: Belgium fears Isis seeking to make 'dirty' nuclear bomb|work=the independent|date=25 March 2016|access-date=6 September 2017|archive-date=14 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414155447/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/brussels-attacks-belgium-fears-isis-seeking-to-make-dirty-nuclear-bomb-a6951661.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2016, [[European Union]] and [[NATO]] security chiefs warned that ISIS was plotting to carry out nuclear attacks on the United Kingdom and Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/nato-raises-justified-concern-that-isil-is-plotting-nuclear-attack-on-britain/ar-BBrYjTE?ocid=spartandhp|title=Nato raises 'justified concern' that Isil is plotting nuclear attack on Britain|publisher=MSN|date=19 April 2016|access-date=20 February 2020|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202112956/http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/nato-raises-justified-concern-that-isil-is-plotting-nuclear-attack-on-britain/ar-BBrYjTE?ocid=spartandhp|url-status=live}}</ref>

===North Caucasus terrorists===
[[North Caucasus]] terrorists have attempted to seize a nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed [[ballistic missile submarine]]. They have also engaged in reconnaissance activities on nuclear storage facilities and have repeatedly threatened to sabotage nuclear facilities. Similar to [[Al-Qaeda]], these groups’ activities have been hampered by counter-terrorism activity; nevertheless they remain committed to launching such a devastating attack within [[Russia]].<ref name="harvard2011" />

===Aum Shinrikyo===
The Japanese terror cult [[Aum Shinrikyo]], which used [[Sarin|sarin gas]] in the [[Tokyo subway sarin attack|1995 Tokyo Metro attack]], has also tried to acquire nuclear weapons. However, according to nuclear terrorism researchers at [[Harvard University]]’s [[Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs]], there is no evidence as of 2011 that they continue to do so.<ref name="harvard2011" />

==Incidents involving nuclear material ==
Information reported to the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] (IAEA) shows "a persistent problem with the illicit trafficking in nuclear and other radioactive materials, thefts, losses and other unauthorized activities".<ref name="autogenerated2">[http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Features/RadSources/PDF/fact_figures2006.pdf IAEA Illicit Trafficking Database (ITDB)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105214132/http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/features/radsources/pdf/fact_figures2006.pdf |date=2014-11-05 }} p. 3.</ref> The IAEA Illicit Nuclear Trafficking Database notes 1,266 incidents reported by 99 countries over the last 12 years, including 18 incidents involving HEU or plutonium trafficking:<ref name="Bunn Secure" />

*There have been 18 incidents of theft or loss of [[highly enriched uranium]] (HEU) and [[plutonium]] confirmed by the IAEA.<ref name="harvard2010" />
*British academic Shaun Gregory alleged in 2009 that terrorists had attacked Pakistani nuclear facilities three times; twice in 2007 and once in 2008.<ref name="Dean" /> However, the then Director General [[Inter-Services Public Relations|ISPR]] [[Athar Abbas]] said the claims were "factually incorrect", adding that the sites were "military facilities, not nuclear installations".<ref name="Declan">{{cite news|last1=Walsh|first1=Declan|title=Pakistan denies al-Qaida targeting nuclear facilities|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/12/pakistan-nuclear-al-qaida|access-date=18 September 2017|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=12 August 2009|archive-date=11 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811225937/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/12/pakistan-nuclear-al-qaida|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Dawn">{{cite news|title=Pakistan denies militants attacked nuclear sites|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/915933|access-date=18 September 2017|work=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|date=12 August 2009|archive-date=28 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728185403/https://www.dawn.com/news/915933|url-status=live}}</ref>
*In November 2007, burglars with unknown intentions infiltrated the [[Pelindaba]] nuclear research facility near [[Pretoria]], South Africa. The burglars escaped without acquiring any of the uranium held at the facility.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pretorianews.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=vn20071109061218448C528585|title=IOL - Pretoria News|work=IOL|access-date=2009-11-25|archive-date=2022-01-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124004621/https://www.pretorianews.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=vn20071109061218448C528585|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Washington Post, December 20, 2007, Op-Ed by [[Micah Zenko]]</ref>
*In June 2007, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] released to the press the name of [[Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah]], allegedly the operations leader for developing tactical plans for detonating nuclear bombs in several American cities simultaneously.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/feds-hoped-to-snag-bin-laden-nuke-expert-in-jfk-bomb-plot | work=Fox News | title=Feds Hoped to Snag Bin Laden Nuke Expert in JFK Bomb Plot | date=June 4, 2007 | access-date=June 16, 2009 | archive-date=November 6, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106152042/https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,277614,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
*In November 2006, [[MI5]] warned that [[al-Qaida]] were planning on using nuclear weapons against cities in the United Kingdom by obtaining the bombs via [[clandestine operation|clandestine]] means.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1947295,00.html | location=London | work=The Guardian | first1=David | last1=Teather | first2=Gary | last2=Younge | title=Briton accused of trying to sell missiles | date=January 5, 2005 | access-date=November 18, 2006 | archive-date=October 13, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013235452/http://politics.guardian.co.uk/terrorism/story/0,,1947295,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
*In February 2006, [[Oleg Khinsagov]] of Russia was arrested in Georgia, along with three Georgian accomplices, with 79.5 grams of 89 percent HEU.<ref name="harvard2010" />
*In November 2006, the [[Alexander Litvinenko poisoning]] with radioactive polonium "represents an ominous landmark: the beginning of an era of nuclear terrorism," according to Andrew J. Patterson.<ref>"Ushering in the era of nuclear terrorism," by Patterson, Andrew J. MD, PhD, ''Critical Care Medicine'', v. 35, p.953-954, 2007.</ref>
*In June 2002, U.S. citizen [[José Padilla (alleged terrorist)|José Padilla]] was arrested for allegedly planning a radiological attack on the city of [[Chicago]];<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/06/10/terror-arrest.htm|title=U.S. citizen arrested in 'dirty bomb' plot|publisher=[[USA Today]]|date=2002-06-11|author1=Donna Leinwand|author2=Jack Kelley|access-date=2010-10-20|quote=A Defense Department official said [[Abu Zubaydah]], a top al-Qaeda official in U.S. custody, led U.S. authorities to Al Muhajir—possibly to try to sow fear in the United States by showing that al-Qaeda had recruited an American. Al Muhajir met Zubaydah in Afghanistan last year and then traveled to Pakistan, where he studied how to assemble a radioactive bomb at an al-Qaeda safe house in Lahore, a senior U.S. law enforcement official said. Weeks later, Al Muhajir met with senior al-Qaeda leaders in Karachi.|archive-date=2010-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715093054/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002/06/10/terror-arrest.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-jun-16-fg-terror16-story.html|title=Al Qaeda Gathering Strength in Pakistan|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=2002-06-16|author1=Bob Drogin|author2=Josh Meyer|author3=Eric Lichtblau|access-date=2010-10-20|quote=U.S. officials say that Padilla, who used the Muslim name Abdullah al Muhajir, studied bomb-making early this year at an Al Qaeda safe house in Lahore, met with senior Al Qaeda officials in March at another safe house in Karachi and traveled elsewhere in the country. Pakistani police arrested Padilla's alleged accomplice in [[Rawalpindi]]. Although Padilla's role was not known at the time, U.S. and Pakistani officials raided the Lahore safe house where he had stayed as well as suspected Al Qaeda compounds in several other cities March 28. Abu Zubeida [Abu Zubaydah], Al Qaeda's operations chief, and several of his senior aides were captured after a shootout that night at a house in Faisalabad.|archive-date=2011-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811114552/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jun/16/world/fg-terror16|url-status=live}}</ref> however, he was never charged with such conduct.  He was instead convicted of charges that he conspired to "murder, kidnap and maim" people overseas.<ref>{{cite news|first=Kelli|last=Arena|author2=Terry Frieden|author3=Phil Hirschkorn|title=Terror suspect Padilla charged|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/11/22/padilla.case/index.html|work=[[CNN]]|date=2005-11-22|access-date=2007-01-25|archive-date=2007-02-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070219030405/http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/11/22/padilla.case/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==By country==
=== Pakistan ===
In 2009, a paper published in [[West Point Military Academy]]'s journal alleged that Pakistan's nuclear sites had been attacked by al-Qaeda and the Taliban at least three times.<ref name="Dean">{{cite news|last1=Nelson|first1=Dean|title=Pakistan's nuclear bases targeted by al-Qaeda|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/6011668/Pakistans-nuclear-bases-targeted-by-al-Qaeda.html|access-date=18 September 2017|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=11 August 2009|archive-date=17 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217203110/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/6011668/Pakistans-nuclear-bases-targeted-by-al-Qaeda.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Pakistan Armed Forces]] rejected the allegations. [[Talat Masood]], a political analyst, said that the nuclear link was "absolute nonsense".<ref name="Declan"/> All three attacks were suicide and appeared to aim at causing maximum damage and not seizing weapons.<ref name="Dawn"/> In January 2010, it was revealed that the US army was training a specialised unit "to seal off and snatch back" Pakistani nuclear weapons in the event that militants would obtain a nuclear device or materials that could make one. Pakistan supposedly possesses about 160+ nuclear warheads. US officials refused to speak on the record about the American safety plans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6991056.ece|title=Login|access-date=2010-01-17|archive-date=2023-02-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207230135/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A study by the [[Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs]] at [[Harvard University]] titled "Securing the Bomb 2010," found that Pakistan's stockpile "faces a greater threat from Islamic terror groups seeking nuclear weapons than any other nuclear stockpile on earth."<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/12/pakistan-nuclear-weapons-security-fears Pakistan nuclear weapons at risk of theft by terrorists, US study warns] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325030334/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/apr/12/pakistan-nuclear-weapons-security-fears |date=2017-03-25 }}, [[The Guardian]], 2010-04-12</ref> In 2016, [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] Director [[Vincent R. Stewart]] said that Pakistan "continues to take steps to improve its nuclear security, and is aware of the threat presented by extremists to its program".<ref name="CRS"/>

According to Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, a former investigator with the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] and the [[United States Department of Energy|U.S. Department of Energy]], there is "a greater possibility of a [[nuclear meltdown]] in Pakistan than anywhere else in the world. The region has more violent extremists than any other, the country is unstable, and its arsenal of nuclear weapons is expanding."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8615484.stm Could terrorists get hold of a nuclear bomb?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100413073333/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8615484.stm |date=2010-04-13 }}, [[BBC]], 2010-04-12</ref> In 2015, [[White House]] press secretary [[Josh Earnest]] said that the US has confidence that Pakistan is "well aware of the range of potential threats to its nuclear arsenal". He added that the US is "confident that Pakistan has a professional and dedicated security force that understands the importance and the high priority that the world places on nuclear security".<ref name="CRS"/>

Nuclear weapons expert [[David Albright]] and author of "Peddling Peril" has also expressed concerns that Pakistan's stockpile may not be secure despite assurances by both Pakistan and U.S. government. He stated that Pakistan "has had many leaks from its program of classified information and sensitive nuclear equipment, and so you have to worry that it could be acquired in Pakistan".<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/13/nuclear.terrorists/ Official: Terrorists seek nuclear material, but lack ability to use it] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109024005/http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/13/nuclear.terrorists/ |date=2012-11-09 }}, [[CNN]], 2010-04-13</ref> In 2015, [[Richard G. Olson]], former US Ambassador to Pakistan, expressed confidence in the capabilities of the Pakistani security forces to control and secure its nuclear weapons. He added that Islamabad has "specifically taken into account the insider threat".<ref name="CRS"/>

A 2016 study by the [[Congressional Research Service]] titled 'Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons', noted that Pakistan's "initiatives, such as strengthened export control laws, improved personnel security, and international nuclear security cooperation programs, have improved Pakistan's nuclear security".<ref name="CRS">{{cite web|last1=Paul K. Kerr|first1=Mary Beth Nikitin|title=Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34248.pdf|publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]]|access-date=19 September 2017|archive-date=1 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101030754/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/nuke/RL34248.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Azerbaijan ===
During the [[2020 Armenian–Azerbaijani skirmishes]] [[Ministry of Defence (Azerbaijan)|Azerbaijan]] threatened to launch missile attacks on the [[Armenian Nuclear Power Plant]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apa.az/en/azerbaijani-army/Azerbaijani-MoD:-Our-army%27s-missile-systems-allows-to-hit-Metsamor-nuclear-power-plant-with-high-accuracy-325945|title=Azerbaijani MoD: Our army's missile systems allows to hit Metsamor nuclear power plant with high accuracy|website=apa.az|accessdate=Oct 9, 2022|archive-date=October 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221009164449/https://apa.az/en/azerbaijani-army/Azerbaijani-MoD%3A-Our-army%27s-missile-systems-allows-to-hit-Metsamor-nuclear-power-plant-with-high-accuracy-325945|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://abc.az/en/news/51593|title=Azerbaijani Defence Ministry: Azerbaijan able to deliver a precise strike on Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant|website=Abc.az|accessdate=Oct 9, 2022|archive-date=October 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012025911/http://abc.az/en/news/51593|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://defence.az/en/news/144085/-modern-missile-systems-of-azerbaijan-enable-us-to-blast-metsamor-npp- |title="Modern missile systems of Azerbaijan enable us to blast Metsamor NPP" |access-date=2020-07-16 |archive-date=2020-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716202021/http://defence.az/en/news/144085/-modern-missile-systems-of-azerbaijan-enable-us-to-blast-metsamor-npp- |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2020/07/17/threat-of-chernobyl-style-catastrophe-in-caucasus-drone-war/|title=Azerbaijan Threatens Chernobyl-Style 'Catastrophe' In Caucasus Drone War|first=David|last=Hambling|website=Forbes|accessdate=Oct 9, 2022|archive-date=August 4, 2020|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200804173706/https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2020/07/17/threat-of-chernobyl-style-catastrophe-in-caucasus-drone-war/%2380c69007946a|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Iran ===
{{See also|Iran and weapons of mass destruction}}
The [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps]] [[Nuclear Protection and Security Corps]] is responsible for securing the [[Iranian nuclear program]] from terrorists.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.isna.ir/news/1400122419348/%D8%B3%D9%BE%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%AD%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B8%D8%AA-%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D9%87%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D9%BE%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%87-%D8%B4%D8%AF | title=سپاه حفاظت و امنیت هسته ای به ساختار سپاه اضافه شد | date=15 March 2022 | access-date=20 March 2023 | archive-date=20 March 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320061253/https://www.isna.ir/news/1400122419348/%D8%B3%D9%BE%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%AD%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B8%D8%AA-%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D9%87%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AE%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D9%BE%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%A7%D8%B6%D8%A7%D9%81%D9%87-%D8%B4%D8%AF | url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Russia ===
{{main|Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko|Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant crisis}}

The [[Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko|assassination of Alexander Litvinenko]] by Russian state agents in 2006 using the radioactive polonium was described as the beginning of an era of nuclear terrorism.<ref>"Ushering in the era of nuclear terrorism", by Patterson, Andrew J. MD, PhD, ''Critical Care Medicine'', v. 35, p. 953-954, 2007.</ref><ref>"Beyond the Dirty Bomb: Re-thinking Radiological Terror", by James M. Acton; M. Brooke Rogers; Peter D. Zimmerman, {{doi|10.1080/00396330701564760}}, ''Survival'', Volume 49, Issue 3 September 2007, pp. 151 – 168</ref><ref name="Bellona">[https://bellona.org/news/nuclear-issues/radioactive-waste-and-spent-nuclear-fuel/2006-12-radiological-terrorism-soft-killers Radiological Terrorism: 'Soft Killers'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930101432/https://bellona.org/news/nuclear-issues/radioactive-waste-and-spent-nuclear-fuel/2006-12-radiological-terrorism-soft-killers |date=2023-09-30 }} by Morten Bremer Mærli, [[Bellona Foundation]]</ref>

During the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], [[Russian Armed Forces|Russian troops]] engaged in the [[Siege of Enerhodar|Battle of Enerhodar]] began shelling the [[Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant]] on March 3, 2022. Units 2 and 3 were put into an emergency safe mode, while Unit 4 remained in operation due to being the furthest from the artillery firing range. [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ukraine)|Ukrainian Foreign Minister]] [[Dmytro Kuleba]] had warned that potential damage from a Russian attack would be "ten times larger than [[Chernobyl disaster|Chernobyl]]".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-04/what-we-know-about-ukraine-s-shelled-nuclear-plant-quicktake | title=What We Know About Ukraine's Shelled Nuclear Plant | newspaper=Bloomberg.com | date=4 March 2022 | access-date=2022-03-04 | archive-date=2022-04-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420054657/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-04/what-we-know-about-ukraine-s-shelled-nuclear-plant-quicktake | url-status=live }}</ref> The attack caused significant damage to the plant, including a fire breaking out near Unit 1, which was under maintenance at the time. The fire was contained in the following morning. The attack was condemned by many within the international community, including being described as nuclear terrorism by [[Lithuania]]n [[Gitanas Nauseda|President Nauseda]], "incredible reckless and dangerous" by [[List of ambassadors of the United States to the United Nations|US Ambassador to the UN]] [[Linda Thomas-Greenfield]], and a war crime by [[Secretary General of NATO]] [[Jens Stoltenberg]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-04/russia-accused-of-nuclear-terrorism-as-world-looks-on-aghast | title=Russia Accused of Nuclear Terrorism as World Looks on Aghast | newspaper=Bloomberg.com | date=4 March 2022 | access-date=2022-03-04 | archive-date=2022-07-01 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701062550/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-04/russia-accused-of-nuclear-terrorism-as-world-looks-on-aghast | url-status=live }}</ref>

In August 2022 [[Dmitry Medvedev]] published a comment warning that "accidents can happen at European nuclear plants too", which was widely interpreted as a concealed threat.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-08-12 |title='Accidents can happen at European nuclear plants too,' Russian ex-president says |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/accidents-can-happen-european-nuclear-plants-too-russian-ex-president-says-2022-08-12/ |access-date=2022-09-22 |archive-date=2022-09-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922091713/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/accidents-can-happen-european-nuclear-plants-too-russian-ex-president-says-2022-08-12/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== United States ===
While in office, President [[Barack Obama]] reviewed Homeland Security policy and concluded that "attacks using [[improvised nuclear device]]s ... pose a serious and increasing national security risk".<ref name="ob">The White House. [https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/homeland-security/ Homeland Security] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170120012237/https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/homeland-security |date=2017-01-20 }}</ref> In their [[2004 United States presidential election|presidential contest]], President [[George W. Bush]] and Senator [[John Kerry]] both agreed that the most serious danger facing the United States is the possibility that terrorists could obtain a nuclear bomb.<ref name="Bunn" /> Most nuclear-weapon analysts agree that "building such a device would pose few technological challenges to reasonably competent terrorists". The main barrier is acquiring highly [[enriched uranium]].<ref>Charles D. Ferguson. [https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/24/opinion/24iht-edferguson_ed3_.html Preventing a nuclear 9/11 : First, secure the highly enriched uranium] ''The New York Times'', September 24, 2004.</ref>

In 2004, [[Graham T. Allison|Graham Allison]], U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Clinton administration, wrote that “on the current path, a nuclear terrorist attack on America in the decade ahead is more likely than not".<ref name="kit" /> In 2004, Bruce Blair, president of the [[Center for Defense Information]] stated: "I wouldn't be at all surprised if nuclear weapons are used over the next 15 or 20 years, first and foremost by a terrorist group that gets its hands on a Russian nuclear weapon or a Pakistani nuclear weapon".<ref name="nyt" /> In 2006, Robert Galluccii, Dean of the [[School of Foreign Service|Georgetown University School of Foreign Service]], estimated that, “it is more likely than not that al-Qaeda or one of its affiliates will detonate a nuclear weapon in a U.S. city within the next five to ten years."<ref name="kit">Orde Kittrie. [http://students.law.umich.edu/mjil/article-pdfs/v28n2-kittrie.pdf Averting Catastrophe: Why the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty is Losing its Deterrence Capacity and How to Restore It] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607150719/http://students.law.umich.edu/mjil/article-pdfs/v28n2-kittrie.pdf |date=2010-06-07 }} May 22, 2007, p. 342.</ref> Despite a number of claims,<ref>Paul Williams (2005). ''The Al Qaeda Connection : International Terrorism, Organized Crime, and the Coming Apocalypse'', Prometheus Books, pp. 192–194.</ref><ref>[http://www.globalpolitician.com/23437-terrorwmd Nuclear 9/11: Interview with Dr. Paul L. Williams] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326215314/http://www.globalpolitician.com/23437-terrorwmd/ |date=2023-03-26 }} ''Global Politician'', September 11, 2007.</ref> there is no credible evidence that any terrorist group has yet succeeded in obtaining a nuclear bomb or the materials needed to make one.<ref name="Bunn"/><ref name="today.ucla.edu"/>

Detonation of a nuclear weapon in a major U.S. city could kill more than 500,000 people and cause more than a trillion dollars in damage.<ref name="kittrie" /><ref name="nyt" /> Hundreds of thousands could die from fallout, the resulting fires and collapsing buildings. In this scenario, uncontrolled fires would burn for days and emergency services and hospitals would be completely overwhelmed.<ref name="Bunn" /><ref>[http://www.nti.org/e_research/cnwm/cnwm_chapter2.pdf Controlling Nuclear Warheads and Materials] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805095900/http://www.nti.org/e_research/cnwm/cnwm_chapter2.pdf |date=2011-08-05 }} p. 16.</ref><ref>Bleek, Philipp, Anders Corr, and Micah Zenko. [http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/1414/nuclear_911.html Nuclear 9/11: What if Port is Ground Zero?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812131430/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/1414/nuclear_911.html |date=2011-08-12 }} ''The Houston Chronicle'', May 1, 2005.</ref> The likely socio-economic consequences in the United States outside the immediate vicinity of an attack, and possibly in other countries, would also likely be far-reaching. A [[Rand Corporation]] report speculates that there may be an exodus from other urban centers by populations fearful of another nuclear attack.<ref>[https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/technical_reports/2006/RAND_TR391.pdf ''Considering the Effects of a Catastrophic Terrorist Attack''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502055451/https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/technical_reports/2006/RAND_TR391.pdf |date=2023-05-02 }} by Charles Meade & Roger C. Molander p 9, Retrieved March 11, 2013 - this report uses smuggled nuclear weapons in container ships at a US port as an example, so speculates an exodus from coastal cities</ref>

The Obama administration claimed to focus on reducing the risk of high-consequence, non-traditional nuclear threats. Nuclear security was thought to be strengthened by enhancing "nuclear detection architecture and ensuring that our own nuclear materials are secure," and by "establishing well-planned, well-rehearsed, plans for co-ordinated response."<ref name="ob" /> According to senior Pentagon officials, the United States will make "thwarting nuclear-armed terrorists a central aim of American strategic nuclear planning."<ref>Thom Shanker and Eric Scmitt. [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/us/politics/19nuke.html U.S. to Make Stopping Nuclear Terror Key Aim] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218203435/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/19/us/politics/19nuke.html |date=2021-12-18 }} ''The New York Times'', December 18, 2009.</ref> [[Nuclear attribution]] is another strategy being pursued to counter terrorism. Led by the National Technical Nuclear Forensics Center, attribution would allow the government to determine the likely source of nuclear material used in the event of a nuclear attack. This would prevent terrorist groups, and any states willing to help them, from being able to pull off a covert attack without assurance of retaliation.<ref>{{cite web|last=Richelson|first=Jeffrey|title=U.S. Nuclear Detection and Counterterrorism, 1998-2009|url=http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb270/index.htm|publisher=George Washington University}}</ref>

In July 2010 medical personnel from the U.S. Army practiced the techniques they would use to treat people injured by an atomic blast. The exercises were carried out at a training center in [[Indiana]], and were set up to "simulate the aftermath of a small nuclear bomb blast, set off in a U.S. city by terrorists."<ref>Deborah Block. [https://www.voanews.com/a/us-military-practices-for-nuclear-attack-99269609/162669.html US Military Practices Medical Response to Nuclear Attack]  ''Voice of America'', 26 July 2010.</ref>

''[[Stuxnet]]'' is a [[computer worm]] discovered in June 2010 that is believed to have been created by the [[United States]] and [[Israel]] to attack the nuclear facilities of Iran and North Korea.<ref name="Wired">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/03/stuxnet-act-of-force/|title=Legal Experts: Stuxnet Attack on Iran Was Illegal 'Act of Force'|magazine=Wired|date=25 March 2013|first=Kim|last=Zetter|access-date=10 March 2017|archive-date=7 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130507101948/http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2013/03/stuxnet-act-of-force|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Nuclear power plants ====
After 9/11, [[nuclear power plant]]s were to be prepared for an attack by a large, well-armed terrorist group. But the [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission]], in revising its security rules, decided not to require that plants be able to defend themselves against groups carrying sophisticated weapons. According to a study by the [[Government Accountability Office]], the N.R.C. appeared to have based its revised rules "on what the industry considered reasonable and feasible to defend against rather than on an assessment of the terrorist threat itself".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2011/03/28/110328taco_talk_kolbert |title=The Nuclear Risk |author=Elizabeth Kolbert |date=28 March 2011 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=20 February 2020 |archive-date=1 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101032648/http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2011/03/28/110328taco_talk_kolbert |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Daniel Hirsch et al.  The NRC's Dirty Little Secret, ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'', May 1, 2003, vol. 59 no. 3, pp. 44-51.</ref> If terrorist groups could sufficiently damage safety systems to cause a [[core meltdown]] at a nuclear power plant, and/or sufficiently damage [[spent fuel]] pools, such an attack could lead to widespread [[radioactive contamination]]. The [[Federation of American Scientists]] have said that if nuclear power use is to expand significantly, nuclear facilities will have to be made extremely safe from attacks that could release massive quantities of radioactivity into the community. New reactor designs have features of [[passive nuclear safety|passive safety]], which may help. In the United States, the NRC carries out "Force on Force" (FOF) exercises at all Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) sites at least once every three years.<ref name=fas12>{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/pubs/_docs/Nuclear_Energy_Report-lowres.pdf |title=The Future of Nuclear Power in the United States |author1=Charles D. Ferguson |author2=Frank A. Settle |name-list-style=amp |year=2012 |work=Federation of American Scientists |access-date=2016-01-05 |archive-date=2017-05-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525170528/https://fas.org/pubs/_docs/Nuclear_Energy_Report-lowres.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The peace group [[Plowshares]] have shown how nuclear weapons facilities can be penetrated, and the groups actions represent extraordinary breaches of security at [[nuclear weapons]] plants in the United States. The [[National Nuclear Security Administration]] has acknowledged the seriousness of the 2012 Plowshares action. [[Non-proliferation]] policy experts have questioned "the use of private contractors to provide security at facilities that manufacture and store the government's most dangerous military material".<ref name=bas12>{{cite web |url=http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/kennette-benedict/civil-disobedience |title=Civil disobedience |author=Kennette Benedict |date=9 August 2012 |work=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |access-date=30 October 2013 |archive-date=25 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425104945/http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/kennette-benedict/civil-disobedience |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Hoaxes ====
In late 1974, President [[Gerald Ford]] was warned that the [[FBI]] received a communication from an [[extortion]]ist wanting $200,000 (${{Inflation|US|200000|1974|r=-5|fmt=c}} today) after claiming that a nuclear weapon had been placed somewhere in [[Boston]]. A team of experts rushed in from the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission]] but their radiation detection gear arrived at a different airport. Federal officials then rented a fleet of vans to carry concealed [[radiation detector]]s around the city but forgot to bring the tools they needed to install the equipment. The incident was later found to be a [[hoax]]. However, the government's response made clear the need for an agency capable of effectively responding to such threats in the future. Later that year, President Ford created the [[Nuclear Emergency Search Team]] (NEST), which under the [[United States Atomic Energy Act of 1954|Atomic Energy Act]] is tasked with investigating the "illegal use of nuclear materials within the United States, including terrorist threats involving the use of special nuclear materials".<ref name="nv.doe.gov">{{cite web | url=http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/FactSheets/NEST.pdf | title=Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) | publisher=U.S. Department of Energy | access-date=2012-10-21 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923060954/http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/factsheets/NEST.pdf | archive-date=2006-09-23 }}</ref>

One of its first responses by the Nuclear Emergency Search/Support Team was in [[Spokane, Washington]] on November 23, 1976. An unknown group called the "Days of Omega" had mailed an [[extortion]] threat claiming it would explode radioactive containers of water all over the city unless paid $500,000 (${{Inflation|US|500000|1976|r=-5|fmt=c}} today). Presumably, the radioactive containers had been stolen from the [[Hanford Site]], less than 150 miles to the southwest. Immediately, NEST flew in a support aircraft from [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] and began searching for non-natural radiation, but found nothing. No one ever responded despite the elaborate instructions given, or made any attempt to claim the (fake) money which was kept under surveillance. Within days, the incident was deemed a hoax, though the case was never solved. To avoid panic, the public was not notified until a few years later.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19810208&id=BvQjAAAAIBAJ&pg=7016,3271794| title=The day they said they'd nuke Spokane-Part 1| last=Peck| first=Chris| work=[[The Spokesman-Review]]| page=17| date=1981-02-08| access-date=2012-10-21| format=scan| archive-date=2023-03-15| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315023412/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19810208&id=BvQjAAAAIBAJ&pg=7016,3271794| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19810208&id=BvQjAAAAIBAJ&pg=6964,2969786| title=The day they said they'd nuke Spokane-Part 2| last=Peck| first=Chris| work=The Spokesman-Review| page=24| date=1981-02-08| access-date=2012-10-21| format=scan| archive-date=2023-03-15| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230315023412/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1314&dat=19810208&id=BvQjAAAAIBAJ&pg=6964,2969786| url-status=live}}</ref>

==Policy landscape==

===Recovery===
The Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (CTR), which is also known as the [[Nunn–Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction]], is a 1992 law sponsored by Senators [[Sam Nunn]] and [[Richard Lugar]]. The CTR established a program that gave the [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]] a direct stake in securing loose fissile material inside the since-dissolved [[Soviet Union]]. According to [[Graham Allison]], director of [[Harvard University]]'s [[Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs]], this law is a major reason why not a single nuclear weapon has been discovered outside the control of Russia's nuclear custodians.<ref>{{cite news|last=Allison|first=Graham|title=Washington Can Work: Celebrating Twenty Years With Zero Nuclear Terrorism|url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/21644/washington_can_work.html|access-date=July 26, 2012|newspaper=The Huffington Post|date=December 29, 2011|archive-date=July 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705215638/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/21644/washington_can_work.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Belfer Center is itself running the ''Project on Managing the Atom,''  [[Matthew Bunn]] is a co-principal investigator of the project,  Martin B. Malin is its executive director (circa. 2014).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/project/3/managing_the_atom.html|title=Managing the Atom - Harvard - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs|access-date=2015-08-09|archive-date=2007-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228020232/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/project/3/managing_the_atom.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In August 2002, the [[United States]] launched a program to track and secure [[enriched uranium]] from 24 [[Soviet Union|Soviet]]-style reactors in 16 countries, in order to reduce the risk of the materials falling into the hands of terrorists or "[[rogue state]]s". The first such operation was ''[[Project Vinca]]'', "a multinational, public-private effort to remove nuclear material from a poorly-secured [[Vinca Nuclear Institute|Yugoslav research institute]]." The project has been hailed as "a nonproliferation success story" with the "potential to inform broader 'global cleanout' efforts to address one of the weakest links in the nuclear nonproliferation chain: insufficiently secured civilian nuclear research facilities."<ref>Philipp C. Bleek, "Project Vinca: Lessons for Securing Civil Nuclear Material Stockpiles," ''The Nonproliferation Review'' (Fall-Winter 2003) p. 1.</ref>

In 2004, the U.S. Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) was established in order to consolidate nuclear stockpiles of [[highly enriched uranium]] (HEU), [[plutonium]], and assemble nuclear weapons at fewer locations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/Consolidation_Thwarting_Nuclear_Theft_corrected.pdf|title=Consolidation: Thwarting Nuclear Theft|year=2012|publisher=Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University|access-date=July 26, 2012|author1=Bunn, Matthew|author2=Eben Harrell|name-list-style=amp|archive-date=July 5, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705001717/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/files/Consolidation_Thwarting_Nuclear_Theft_corrected.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Additionally, the GTRI converted HEU fuels to [[low-enriched uranium]] (LEU) fuels, which has prevented their use in making a nuclear bomb within a short amount of time. HEU that has not been converted to LEU has been shipped back to secure sites, while amplified security measures have taken hold around vulnerable nuclear facilities.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wier|first=Anthony and Matthew Bunn|title=Bombs That Won't Go Off|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/17/AR2006111701591.html|access-date=July 26, 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 19, 2006|archive-date=July 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160717022945/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/17/AR2006111701591.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Options===
[[Robert Gallucci]], President of the [[John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation]], argues that traditional deterrence is not an effective approach toward terrorist groups bent on causing a nuclear catastrophe.<ref name="Gallucci pp. 51–58">{{cite journal|last=Gallucci|first=Robert|title=Averting Nuclear Catastrophe: Contemplating Extreme Responses to U.S. Vulnerability|journal=Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science|date=September 2006|volume= 607|pages=51–58|doi=10.1177/0002716206290457|s2cid=68857650}}</ref>  [[Henry Kissinger]], stating the wide availability of nuclear weapons makes deterrence “decreasingly effective and increasingly hazardous.”<ref>{{cite news|last=Kissinger|first=Henry|title=Toward a Nuclear-Free World|url=http://www.nti.org/analysis/opinions/toward-nuclear-free-world/|access-date=28 January 2013|newspaper=NTI|date=15 January 2008|archive-date=12 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512194633/http://www.nti.org/analysis/opinions/toward-nuclear-free-world/|url-status=live}}</ref> Preventive strategies, which advocate the elimination of an enemy before it is able to mount an attack, are risky and controversial, therefore difficult to implement. Gallucci believes that “the United States should instead consider a policy of expanded deterrence, which focuses not on the would-be nuclear terrorists but on those states that may deliberately transfer or inadvertently lead nuclear weapons and materials to them. By threatening retaliation against those states, the United States may be able to deter that which it cannot physically prevent.”.<ref name="Gallucci pp. 51–58"/>

[[Graham Allison]] makes a similar case, arguing that the key to expanded deterrence is coming up with ways of tracing nuclear material to the country that forged the fissile material. “After a nuclear bomb detonates, nuclear forensic cops would collect debris samples and send them to a laboratory for radiological analysis. By identifying unique attributes of the fissile material, including its impurities and contaminants, one could trace the path back to its origin.”<ref name="Allison">{{cite news|last=Allison|first=Graham|title=How to Keep the Bomb From Terrorists|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/03/13/how-to-keep-the-bomb-from-terrorists.html|access-date=28 January 2013|newspaper=Newsweek|date=13 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513111324/http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/03/13/how-to-keep-the-bomb-from-terrorists.html|archive-date=13 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> The process is analogous to identifying a criminal by fingerprints. “The goal would be twofold: first, to deter leaders of nuclear states from selling weapons to terrorists by holding them accountable for any use of their own weapons; second, to give every leader the incentive to tightly secure their nuclear weapons and materials.”<ref name="Allison"/>

===Nuclear skeptics===
[[John Mueller]], a scholar of international relations at the [[Ohio State University]], is a prominent nuclear skeptic. He makes three claims: (1) the nuclear intent and capability of terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda has been “fundamentally exaggerated;” (2) “the likelihood a terrorist group will come up with an atomic bomb seems to be vanishingly small;” and (3) policymakers are guilty of an “atomic obsession” that has led to “substantively counterproductive” policies premised on “worst case fantasies.”<ref name="Mueller presentation">{{cite book|last=Mueller|first=John|title=The Atomic Terrorist: Assessing the Likelihood, prepared for presentation at the Program on International Security Policy|date=15 January 2008|location=University of Chicago|url=http://politicalscience.osu.edu/faculty/jmueller//apsachgo.pdf|access-date=28 January 2013|archive-date=16 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130516012622/http://politicalscience.osu.edu/faculty/jmueller//apsachgo.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In his book ''Atomic Obsession'': ''Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to Al-Qaeda''  he argues that: "anxieties about terrorists obtaining nuclear weapons are essentially baseless: a host of practical and organizational difficulties make their likelihood of success almost vanishingly small".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryWorld/?view=usa&ci=9780195381368|title=Atomic Obsession: Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to Al-Qaeda|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|accessdate=Oct 9, 2022|archive-date=December 7, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031207002933/http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryWorld/?view=usa&ci=9780195381368|url-status=live}}</ref>

Intelligence officials have pushed back, testifying before Congress that the inability to recognize the shifting modus operandi of terrorist groups was part of the reason why members of [[Aum Shinrikyo]], for example, were “not on anybody’s radar screen.”<ref name="Graham Allison Nuclear Terrorism">{{cite book|last=Allison|first=Graham|title=Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe|year=2004|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York|isbn=9781429945516|page=15|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s9qoSQx-UuoC}}</ref> Matthew Bunn, associate professor at [[Harvard University]]'s [[John F. Kennedy School of Government]], argues that “Theft of [[Enriched uranium|HEU]] and plutonium is not a hypothetical worry, it is an ongoing reality."<ref name="Bunn Secure">{{cite web|last=Bunn|first=Matthew|title=Securing the Bomb 2010: Securing All Nuclear Materials in Four Years|url=http://www.nti.org/media/pdfs/Securing_The_Bomb_2010.pdf?_=1317159794|publisher=President and Fellows of Harvard College|access-date=28 January 2013|archive-date=12 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512210047/http://www.nti.org/media/pdfs/Securing_The_Bomb_2010.pdf?_=1317159794|url-status=live}}</ref> Almost all of the stolen HEU and plutonium that has been seized over the years had never been missed before it was seized. The IAEA Illicit Nuclear Trafficking Database notes 1,266 incidents reported by 99 countries over the last 12 years, including 18 incidents involving HEU or plutonium trafficking.<ref name="Bunn Secure" />

Keir Lieber and Daryl Press argue that despite the prominent U.S. focus on nuclear terrorism, "the fear of terrorist transfer [of nuclear weapons] seems greatly exaggerated... [and] the dangers of a state giving nuclear weapons to terrorists have been overstated." A decade of terrorism statistics  show a strong correlation between attack fatalities and the attribution of the attack, and Lieber and Press assert that "neither a terror group nor a state sponsor would remain anonymous after a nuclear terror attack." About 75 percent of attacks with 100 or more fatalities were traced to the culprits; also, 97 percent of attacks on U.S. soil or that of a major ally (resulting in 10 or more deaths) were attributed to the guilty party. Lieber and Press conclude that the lack of anonymity would deter a state from providing terrorist groups with nuclear weapons.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lieber|first1=Keir|last2=Press|first2=Daryl|title=Why States Won't Give Nuclear Weapons to Terrorists|journal=International Security|date=Summer 2013|volume=38|pages=80–84, 104|issue=1|doi=10.1162/isec_a_00127|s2cid=10608058|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The use of HEU and plutonium in satellites has raised the concern that a sufficiently motivated rogue state could retrieve materials from a satellite crash (notably on land as occurred with [[Kosmos 954|Kosmos-954]], [[Mars 96|Mars-96]] and [[Fobos-Grunt]]) and then use these to supplement the yield of an already working nuclear device. This has been discussed recently in the UN and the [[Nuclear Emergency Search Team]] regularly consults with [[Roscosmos]] and [[NASA]] about satellite re-entries that may have contained such materials. As yet no parts were verifiably recovered from Mars 96 but recent [[WikiLeaks]] releases suggest that one of the "cells" may have been recovered by mountain climbers in Chile.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

===Security summits===
On April 12–13, 2010, President of the United States [[Barack Obama]] initiated and hosted the first-ever nuclear security summit in [[Washington, D.C.|Washington D.C.]], commonly known as the Washington [[Nuclear Security Summit]]. The goal was to strengthen international cooperation to prevent nuclear terrorism. President Obama, along with nearly fifty world leaders, discussed the threat of nuclear terrorism, what steps needed to be taken to mitigate illicit nuclear trafficking, and how to secure nuclear material. The Summit was successful in that it produced a consensus delineating nuclear terrorism as a serious threat to all nations. Finally, the Summit produced over four-dozen specific actions embodied in commitments by individual countries and the Joint Work Plan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stanleyfoundation.org/publications/pab/TobeyPAB611.pdf|title=Planning for Success at the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit|year=2011|publisher=The Stanley Foundation|access-date=July 26, 2012|author=Tobey, William|archive-date=May 12, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512103010/http://www.stanleyfoundation.org/publications/pab/TobeyPAB611.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> However, world leaders at the Summit failed to agree on baseline protections for weapons-usable material, and no agreement was reached on ending the use of [[highly enriched uranium]] (HEU) in civil nuclear functions. Many of the shortcomings of the Washington Nuclear Security Summit were addressed at the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit in March 2012, including a focus on nuclear detection.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2012 Nuclear Security Summit {{!}} Homeland Security |url=https://www.dhs.gov/archive/2012-nuclear-security-summit |access-date=2024-09-29 |website=www.dhs.gov |language=en}}</ref>

According to [[Graham Allison]], director of [[Harvard University]]’s [[Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs]], the objectives of the Nuclear Security Summit in [[Seoul]] are to continue to, “assess the progress made since the Washington Summit and propose additional cooperation measures to (1) Combat the threat of nuclear terrorism, (2) protect nuclear materials and related facilities, and (3) prevent illicit trafficking in nuclear materials."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nuclearsummit.org/files/QAFINALVersion.pdf|title=2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit Q&A with Professor Graham Allison|year=2012|publisher=Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University|access-date=July 26, 2012|archive-date=April 2, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402135223/http://www.nuclearsummit.org/files/QAFINALVersion.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Media coverage==
In 2011, the British news agency, [[The Daily Telegraph|''The'' ''Telegraph'']], received [[WikiLeaks|leaked documents]] regarding the [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo Bay]] interrogations of [[Khalid Sheikh Mohammed]]. [[Guantanamo Bay files leak|The documents]] cited Khalid saying that, if [[Osama bin Laden]] is captured or killed by the [[Coalition of the Willing]], an al-Qaeda [[sleeper cell]] will detonate a "weapon of mass destruction" in a "secret location" in Europe, and promised it would be "a nuclear hellstorm".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8471907/WikiLeaks-Guantanamo-Bay-terrorist-secrets-revealed.html | title=WikiLeaks: Guantanamo Bay terrorist secrets revealed | publisher=Telegraph.co.uk | access-date=April 27, 2011 | author=Hope, Christopher | location=London | date=April 25, 2011 | archive-date=July 15, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120715015806/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8471907/WikiLeaks-Guantanamo-Bay-terrorist-secrets-revealed.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/nuclear-hellstorm-if-bin-laden-caught-911-mastermind/story-e6frfku0-1226044724298 | title='Nuclear hellstorm' if bin Laden caught - 9/11 mastermind | publisher=News.com.au | date=April 25, 2011 | access-date=April 27, 2011 | archive-date=September 2, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902163726/http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/nuclear-hellstorm-if-bin-laden-caught-911-mastermind/story-e6frfku0-1226044724298 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110425/wl_mideast_afp/usattacksguantanamowikileakssheikh_20110425184242 | title='Nuclear hellstorm' if bin Laden caught: 9/11 mastermind | publisher=News.Yahoo.com | date=2011-04-25 | access-date=April 27, 2011 | archive-date=2011-05-01 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501061504/http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110425/wl_mideast_afp/usattacksguantanamowikileakssheikh_20110425184242 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Boss-Walker |first=Klyte |date=April 25, 2011 |title=Al-Qaeda Hid Bomb in Europe – WikiLeaks Releases Secret Files |url=http://newstabulous.com/al-qaeda-hid-bomb-in-europe-wikileaks-releases-secret-files/9722/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507031820/http://newstabulous.com/al-qaeda-hid-bomb-in-europe-wikileaks-releases-secret-files/9722/ |archive-date=2011-05-07 |access-date=2011-10-29}}</ref> No such attack occurred after the [[Death of Osama bin Laden|killing of Osama bin Laden]] in 2011.

==See also==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[The Apollo Affair]] - allegations of theft of HEU from the US' NUMEC  facility by Israel; losses later recovered from pipes in facility and additional large amounts were lost after alleged theft was discovered and security enhanced.
* [[2014 Nuclear Security Summit]]
* [[Atomic spies]]
* [[Crimes involving radioactive substances]]
* [[Guantanamo Bay files leak]]
* [[List of CBRN warfare forces]]
* [[Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents]]
* [[Mutual assured destruction]]
* [[Nuclear blackmail]]
* [[Nuclear espionage]]
* [[Nuclear power phase-out]]
* [[Nuclear warfare]]
* [[Pelindaba]]
* [[Superphénix]]
* [[Vulnerability of nuclear plants to attack]]
* [[War on Terror]]
* [[Weapons of mass destruction]]
* [[World Institute for Nuclear Security]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Allison |first=Graham |author-link=Graham T. Allison |title=Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe |date=9 August 2004 |publisher=[[Times Books]] |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-0-8050-7651-6|title-link=Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe }}
*Byrne, John and Steven M. Hoffman (1996). ''Governing the Atom: The Politics of Risk'', Transaction Publishers.
*[[Stephanie Cooke|Cooke, Stephanie]] (2009). ''[[In Mortal Hands: A Cautionary History of the Nuclear Age]]'', Black Inc.
* {{cite book |author=Ferguson, Charles D., and [[William C. Potter]], with Amy Sands, Leonard S. Spector and Fred L. Wehling |title=The Four Faces of Nuclear Terrorism |year=2004 |publisher=[[Center for Nonproliferation Studies]] |location=Monterey, California |isbn=1-885350-09-0|title-link=The Four Faces of Nuclear Terrorism }}
* {{cite book |last=Jones |first=Ishmael |author-link=Ishmael Jones |title=The Human Factor: Inside the CIA's Dysfunctional Intelligence Culture |orig-year=2008|year=2010 |publisher=[[Encounter Books]] |isbn=978-1-59403-382-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Levi |first=Michael |author-link=Michael A. Levi |title=On Nuclear Terrorism |year=2007 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-674-02649-0|title-link=On Nuclear Terrorism }}
*Lovins, Amory B. and John H. Price  (1975). ''[[Non-Nuclear Futures: The Case for an Ethical Energy Strategy]]'', Ballinger Publishing Company, 1975, {{ISBN|0-88410-602-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Schell |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Schell |title=The Seventh Decade: The New Shape of Nuclear Danger |year=2007 |publisher=[[Metropolitan Books]] |location=New York, New York |title-link=The Seventh Decade: The New Shape of Nuclear Danger }}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline}}
* [https://www.nti.org/about/nuclear-terrorism/ Nuclear Terrorism Threat | Nuclear Weapons & Terrorist Threats]
* [http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/topic/6/nuclear_terrorism.html Nuclear Terrorism publications] from Harvard Kennedy School faculty and fellows
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120309144653/http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/nuclear.cfm What if the terrorists go nuclear?], [[Center for Defense Information]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100424043623/http://www.cfr.org/publication/10067/ Preventing Catastrophic Nuclear Terrorism], [[Council on Foreign Relations]]
* [http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList488/724C739ABEEF129A412570F900548184 Use of nuclear and radiological weapons by terrorists?], International Review of the Red Cross
* [http://www.nci.org/k-m/makeab.htm "Can Terrorists Build Nuclear Weapons?"], [[Nuclear Control Institute]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130601005029/http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=issues%2FTerrorism Annotated bibliography], Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100527215028/http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/27872/fallout-after-a-nuclear-attack Fallout: After a Nuclear Attack] - slideshow by ''[[Life magazine]]''
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/rcip/nuclear.html Nuclear Emergency and Radiation Resources]
* [http://sriac.org/nuclear-security/ International Project - Forum «Nuclear Security – Counteraction Measures to Acts of Nuclear Terrorism»] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810070111/http://sriac.org/nuclear-security/ |date=2014-08-10 }}
* [http://masrelbalad.com/home/single_news/40584 masrelbalad.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429062151/http://masrelbalad.com/home/single_news/40584 |date=2018-04-29 }}

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