Jihadi Du Jour: Al Qaida Attempts to Lay Hands on Nuclear Weapons

Being reported in Bulgaria:

Al Qaida and other Islamic extremists want to acquire chemical or radiological weapons in order to attack a Western country, a senior British official has said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of his work.

Britain's Foreign Office has evidence that terrorist groups have attempted to purchase chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials, the official has said.

The warning comes after last week MI5's head Eliza Manningham-Buller said the authorities have identified 30 major terrorist plots being devised in the UK and involving over 1,600 individuals.

"We know the aspiration is there, we know the efforts to get the materials are there, we know the efforts to get the technology are there", a spokesperson of Britain's Foreign Office said.

The senior official said that an attack with radiological or chemical weapons would be based on unsophisticated technology and would cause mass panic rather than mass casualties.

The official added that Britain's Foreign Office is more concerned about legitimate substances and biological weapons that could be used to create weapons such as anthrax or smallpox.