Russia hosts nuclear terror drills

• Tweet

MOSCOW, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The Kremlin announced that international drills were conducted in Moscow with the aim of preventing an act of nuclear terrorism.

Russian news agency ITAR-Tass reports that drills were carried out this week in Moscow under the terms of the framework outlined by the global initiative to combat nuclear terrorism.

The report stated that national delegates and observers from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Interpol and the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime took part in the drills.

The IAEA in July hosted discussions in Vienna on ways to improve transparency issues related to the potential illicit trafficking of nuclear material and radioactive materials.

The watchdog agency said there have been more than 2,200 confirmed incidents of illegal trafficking reported since 1995.

"Most of these incidents involve radioactive materials that could cause harm if used by terrorists or handled innocently by people who are unaware that the materials are radioactive," the agency stated.

Russia and the United States serve as leaders of an 85-member global initiative to combat nuclear terrorism. The U.S. State Department described the measure as a collective agreement to prevent, deter and respond to potential acts of nuclear terrorism through multilateral activities.