Suspected Al-Qaeda Operative Tried to Obtain Radioactive Material

A suspected al-Qaeda operative tried to acquire radioactive materials in Canada last year for use in a “dirty bomb,” the Washington Times reported today (see GSN, June 3).

The CIA and FBI are currently searching for Adnan El Shukrijumah in connection with the suspected dirty bomb plot, according to the Times. El Shukrijumah was detected last year in Hamilton, Ontario, posing as a student at McMaster University, according to an FBI informant. The university is home to a five-megawatt nuclear research reactor and U.S. officials believe that El Shukrijumah was in Hamilton to obtain radioactive material, the Times reported.

El Shukrijumah is a key North American al-Qaeda operative because of his knowledge of the United States and his ability to speak English, a U.S. official said (Bill Gertz, Washington Times, Oct. 17).

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