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Page added on July 10, 2014
ISIS Has Seized 88 Pounds Of Uranium In Northern Iraq
With the mainstream media having moved on in the news cycle to Dow ‘almost’ 17,000 and the ‘Border Crisis’ Scandal, it seems The Islamic State (the terrorists formerly known as ISIS) have stepped up their game and come out swinging… by seizing 88 pounds of nuclear material (uranium compounds) from Mosul University. As Iraq’s UN Ambassador warned, “these nuclear materials, despite the limited amounts mentioned, “can be used in manufacturing weapons of mass destruction… or in combination with other materials in its terrorist acts.”
As Reuters reports, insurgents in Iraq have seized nuclear materials used for scientific research at a university in the country’s north, Iraq told the United Nations in a letter appealing for help to “stave off the threat of their use by terrorists in Iraq or abroad.”
Nearly 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of uranium compounds were kept at Mosul University, Iraq’s U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the July 8 letter obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.
“Terrorist groups have seized control of nuclear material at the sites that came out of the control of the state,” Alhakim wrote, adding that such materials “can be used in manufacturing weapons of mass destruction.”
“These nuclear materials, despite the limited amounts mentioned, can enable terrorist groups, with the availability of the required expertise, to use it separate or in combination with other materials in its terrorist acts,” said Alhakim.
The US is playing down the threat (for a change)
A U.S. government source familiar with the matter said the materials were not believed to be enriched uranium and therefore would be difficult to use to manufacture into a weapon.
Another U.S. official familiar with security matters said he was unaware of this development raising any alarm among U.S. authorities.
But, ironicaly, it is is Iraq that is most worried about the nukes…
“The Republic of Iraq is notifying the international community of these dangerous developments and asking for help and the needed support to stave off the threat of their use by terrorists in Iraq or abroad,” Alhakim wrote.
…
“It also provides for expanded cooperation between and among states regarding rapid measures to locate and recover stolen or smuggled nuclear material, mitigate any radiological consequences of sabotage, and prevent and combat related offences,” according to the IAEA.
* * *
Another great addition to ISIS Annual Report and another potentially terrifying prospect for the rest of the world… all this as rockets from Gaza fall around Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility also… Should be good for guaranteeing Dow 17,000 tomorrow…
10 Comments on "ISIS Has Seized 88 Pounds Of Uranium In Northern Iraq"
Arthur on Thu, 10th Jul 2014 8:57 am
The German magazine. der Spiegel reports about Istanbul becoming a major hub for ISIS recruitment:
http://deepresource.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/istanbul-global-jihadist-hub/
In my view, Istanbul will become the capital of the Caliphate… AGAIN. Erdogan meanwhile is fooling everybody. He loves ISIS but will not admit it and simply let’s the US bulldozer away secular regimes like that of Saddam, Khadaffi and Assad… so Erdogan can take over the ME.
The west, that concentrates on destroying Russia, is sleepwalking straight into the greatest planetary geopolitical upheavel since the rise of communism in 1917.
hculliton on Thu, 10th Jul 2014 10:25 am
Wow! Only 10 + years after the invasion and there’s finally some uranium in Iraq! Take that Saddam!
Plantagenet on Thu, 10th Jul 2014 11:06 am
Thanks to Obama’s failed Iraq policy, we now have an Islamist terror group in control of half of Iraq and possessing 88 pounds of Uranium. On the bright side, at least obama has stopped boasting about how successful his Iraq policy has been.
ulenspiegel on Thu, 10th Jul 2014 2:22 pm
“Nearly 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of uranium compounds were kept at Mosul University, Iraq’s U.N.”
Uranium compounds are not uranium. BTW uranium consists of various isotopes.
Therefore, the headline of this articles and the spin is stupid. Sorry.
Northwest Resident on Thu, 10th Jul 2014 2:41 pm
ulenspiegel — When I read an article from ZeroHedge, I always flip a coin. Heads — it’s stupid. Tails — it isn’t stupid. And that amazing technique makes me correct nearly fifty percent of the time — go figure…
Plantagenet on Thu, 10th Jul 2014 3:23 pm
The Caliphate is quite capable of using Uranium or anything else radioactive to make “dirty bombs.” Don’t surprised if this uranium shows up mixed with the explosives in the next terrorist bomb attack in Baghdad.
bobinget on Thu, 10th Jul 2014 4:07 pm
OTOH, Just saying, could this be another WMD scare?
Something to get even Congress all worked up back in intervention mode… OR? could it be, Israel is already
on the case? OR? Is this just Zero Hedge being an asshole, as usual.
BTW, ISIS won’t be throwing dirty bombs anytime soon as it renders that location un-inhabital for decades.
Unless of course, ISIS or ISIL has no intention of ever becoming that “Islamic Caliphate” it poses to become.
Once any insurgent group sets up shop as a government it paints targets all over it’s backsides.
Makati1 on Thu, 10th Jul 2014 8:25 pm
Plant, at least you are thinking out of the box others appear to inhabit. You are correct. That 88 lbs. made it into the news for the next false flag event which could be Baghdad … or NYC.
Convenient, yes? And why was 88 lbs of that stuff left in Iraq after 10 years of US occupation? For a day such as this? Or was it recently planted there
for a false flag event, by our own CIA.?
I guess time will tell.
TemplarMyst on Fri, 11th Jul 2014 3:11 pm
While I think one could certainly use this as justification for some sort of false flag operation, and there are certainly plenty of players in this game who might like to do so, there are some things to consider.
I’m guessing the uranium, being seized from a university, was likely being used for research and thus is not likely to be very enriched at all. Not probably really suitable for a weapon without that enrichment.
Another factor is density. 88 pounds of uranium would fill a gallon milk jug about half way. Ain’t a lot of stuff there.
If they want to put it in a dirty bomb and blast it all over the place that’d be a bit nasty, but the amount of uranium and thorium released through normal coal plant operations throughout the world emits vastly greater amounts of the stuff. It’s just part of the emissions coming out of the smoke stack. We’d probably notice if everyone was dying around coal plants. Or so I suspect.
Not that they aren’t getting sick, mind you! But I don’t think they’re all dropping dead from radiation sickness. Or at least it doesn’t seem so.
Still, the idea of ISIS/Islamic State having the stuff is disturbing. I would suspect the dirty bomb approach might appeal to them. If it’s concentrated enough it’s a pretty nasty hazard as a heavy metal more than it is a hazard as a source of radioactivity. Or so I would guess.
Heavy metal poisoning, which is what I suspect happens where depleted uranium shells are used, is pretty damn nasty on it’s own.
Ugh.
Makati1 on Fri, 11th Jul 2014 10:34 pm
But, the shock value of a dirty bomb is all they need. Few are educated on radioactivity and consider any to be dangerous and deadly. 88 lbs is a good scare factor, if nothing else. Another excuse to keep the “Code Red” flag flying.