LONDON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Attacks on weapons depots in Pakistan by al-Qaida and Taliban militants suggest insurgents are setting their eyes on nuclear weapons, analysts say.
Shaun Gregory, a British scholar at the Pakistan Security Research Unit at Bradford University, notes three high-profile attacks on nuclear sites in Pakistan in recent years suggest Islamic radicals are targeting the country's sensitive nuclear weapons arsenal.
Pakistan guards its weapons sites with extreme care, using advanced screening technology and round-the-clock surveillance by armed guards. Meanwhile, weapons and detonators are stored in separate facilities to prevent easy theft.
Gregory, in an interview with London's The Daily Telegraph newspaper, says the Pakistani nuclear facilities are vulnerable, however, because of their location in areas where "Taliban and al-Qaida are more than capable of launching terrorist attacks."
Meanwhile, with radical sympathies mounting in Pakistan, the chance for Taliban or al-Qaida infiltration creates a potential for a nightmare scenario.
"No screening program will ever be able to weed out all Islamist sympathizers or anti-Westerners among Pakistan's military or civilians with nuclear weapons expertise," he said.
With this possibility, he said, the risk that Taliban or al-Qaida militants gain access to nuclear weapons components or expertise is a "genuine" threat.
