Islamic State may Have Enough Material to Create Dirty Bomb

Still from an Islamic State propaganda video.

Clarion Project, June 11, 2015:

The Islamic State is now believed to have enough radioactive material to build a dirty bomb.

British newspaper The Independent cited Australian intelligence reports that the Islamic State has seized radioactive material from Iraqi government hospitals and research facilities.

A ‘dirty bomb’ or ‘Radiological Dispersive Device (RDD)’ is an explosive device mixed with radioactive material. It does not explode with anywhere near the same force as a nuclear fission bomb, nor does it cause fallout.

Instead it would scatter radioactive material around the blast site. Radioactive material is highly carcinogenic and causes radioactive illness. Yet the further one gets away from the blast site, the less concentrated and harmful the radioactive material becomes. Furthermore, immediate damage caused by exposure is minimal.

The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission explains that “Most RDDs would not release enough radiation to kill people or cause severe illness – the conventional explosive itself would be more harmful to individuals than the radioactive material.”

Whereas a nuclear fission bomb creates a cloud of radiation spreading up to hundreds of miles, radiation from a dirty bomb spreads only over a few blocks and can be cleaned up by professional crews with the proper equipment.

They write “A dirty bomb is not a ‘Weapon of Mass Destruction’ but a ‘Weapon of Mass Disruption,’ where contamination and anxiety are the terrorists’ major objectives.”

It is expected that the Islamic State will attempt to carry out a spectacularly-violent and attention-grabbing attack to mark the start of Ramadan and the one-year anniversary of the declaration of a Caliphate on June 18.

Islamic State propaganda has long threatened to carry out attacks on Western targets and encourages its followers not to wait for instructions from the central administration.