TEMPO.CO, Cairo - Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam, Muammar Gaddafi’s cousin and former intelligence official, has revealed that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has their hands on materials to make nuclear weapons.
As quoted from Daily Mail on Monday, Ahmed said militants loyal to ISIS in Libya are likely to be in possession of more than 6,000 barrels of uranium stored in the desert outside the south-western town of Sabha.
The region had previously under the guard of the government’s army before ISIS took it under their control.
Uranium ore or "yellowcake" is the foundation material for making fuel for nuclear weapons, but it requires "extensive processing" before it could be used for weapons purposes.
The uranium, which is estimated to be worth as much as US$400 million or Rp5 trillion, could be sold to a rogue state such as North Korea to fund terrorism.
“The uranium I think they already have it, ISIS, because they control this territory. They are not stupid anymore. They know how to make money. They will try and sell it,” said Ahmed.
The whereabouts of the uranium remains a source of concern. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency were scheduled in December 2013 to visit Sabha and verify the size of the stockpile and "conditions of storage" but it is unclear where the location of the storage was.
DAILYMAIL|YON DEMA
