Int'l experts play down threat of terrorists acquiring WMDs
Terrorist groups and organisations have neither the capacity nor the ambition to produce weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix and other experts said at a conference in Helsinki on Thursday.
"I'm as concerned about global warming and its long term effects" as about the immediate threat of terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction, said Blix, a former Swedish diplomat who was charged with searching for such weapons ahead of the US-led invasion of Iraq.
"Support and coordination from states would be needed for terrorists to produce WMDs," he insisted, speaking at a conference here entitled "WMD terrorism: how scared should we be?".
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Blix acknowledged however that "there is a small but not zero risk" of terrorists laying their hands on weapons of mass destruction, and called for more preventive measures.
"Material and technology are now widespread and an ability to create WMDs is also greater," he said.
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