Fighting terror

Report: Al-Qaida built a 'dirty bomb'

LONDON -- Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network successfully built a crude radiological device known as a "dirty bomb" in Afghanistan, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Thursday.

British intelligence agents infiltrated the network and found documents that showed al-Qaida members had built the device near Herat in western Afghanistan, the BBC said, citing unidentified British government officials.

Britain's Foreign Office said Thursday the report substantiated expert opinion that al-Qaida wanted to develop a nuclear weapon.

In Washington, a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press there was no doubt about bin Laden's interest in acquiring a "dirty bomb" -- a conventional bomb capable of spreading radiation.

But the U.S. official said the U.S. has no evidence that he has built such a device.

The British intelligence agents did not find the device itself and it has not since been recovered, BBC reported. According to the BBC, the Taliban regime helped al-Qaida construct the device by providing medical isotopes.

The BBC report did not say where the agents found the documents, when the device was thought to have been constructed or how much radiation it could spread.

The documents were sent to the British government's weapons research facility in Porton Down, southern England, the BBC said. Scientists concluded al-Qaida had constructed a small "dirty bomb," not a full blown nuclear device.

There has been previous evidence of al-Qaida's interest in developing a "dirty bomb." Such a radiological weapon would be far less deadly and damaging than a nuclear explosion.

Computers found by journalists and U.S. troops at a variety of facilities in Afghanistan indicated al-Qaida had sought to obtain and develop nuclear and other weapons.

In addition, U.S. officials have said captured al-Qaida lieutenant Abu Zubaydah told American interrogators the terrorist network was working on a "dirty bomb."

Authorities also have said that Jose Padilla, a former Chicago gang member charged with plotting with al-Qaida, attended two meetings in Pakistan at which senior al-Qaida operatives discussed the possible use of a "dirty bomb."

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