AFP
Monday, November 13, 2006

The Al-Qaeda terror network wants to acquire technology that will allow it to carry out a nuclear attack on a Western country, a spokesman for the British foreign ministry told AFP on Monday.
"The aspiration is there. That's something that we will continue to operate safeguards against," the spokesman said.

He stressed, however, that the Foreign Office did not believe that Al-Qaeda had acquired the technology. He could not comment on how far the network had gone in attempting to get hold of the technology.

The comments followed warnings last week from the head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5 that future terror attacks could involve weapons of mass destruction.

Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller said on Friday that while homemade, improvised explosives may be used now, future terror attacks could involve chemical, bacteriological, radioactive and even nuclear material.

Her assessment came after Muslim convert Dhiren Barot was jailed for life this week for plotting to kill thousands of people in devastating attacks in Britain and the United States.

Britain has been on high alert since the July 7, 2005 bombings on London's public transport network killed 52 commuters and the four Islamist extremist suicide bombers.