Anti-nuclear terrorism group launched

VIENNA, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- A new international effort to prevent nuclear materials from falling into terrorists' hands has been launched in Austria, officials say.

The World Institute for Nuclear Security will work alongside the International Atomic Energy Agency in seeking to improve world nuclear security and preventing nuclear terrorism, The Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.

IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei said the emphasis of the new group will be premptive rather than reactive, telling The Daily Telegraph, "We have come to realize we have to become more intelligent and act in a preventative way" against terrorists looking to obtain nuclear materials and technology.

WINS is coming online less than a year after a break-in at the Pelindaba nuclear facility in South Africa, which contained enough enriched uranium to make several nuclear bombs, the newspaper said.

The group is being funded by the the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington group headed by former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga., the U.S. Department of Energy and the Norwegian government, officials said.