Mohamed Elbaradei, head of the UN”s International Atomic Energy Agency, stated that his organization handles 150 cases of nuclear trafficking incidents a year.

From the Los Angeles Times:

He warned of the danger of nuclear material falling into the hands of extremist groups, nurtured on “anger, humiliation and desperation” in the Middle East or elsewhere.

He said the IAEA each year is handling 150 cases of illicit trafficking of nuclear material. Some material that is reported stolen is never recovered, he said, and conversely, “a lot of the material recovered has never been reported stolen.”

“This, to me, is the most danger we are facing today. Because any country, even if they have nuclear weapons, would continue to have a rational approach,” he said. “They know if they use a nuclear weapon, they will be pulverized. For an extremist group, there is no concept of deterrence. If they have it, they will use it.”

Mohamed ElBaradei and the IAEA won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

Learn more at our Nuclear Materials Smuggling page.