ROME. Feb 4 (Interfax-AVN) - The use of extremely cruel forms and methods by terrorist organizations increases the threat of what is called technological terrorism, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov told an international conference on terrorism in Rome on Monday.
Above all, terrorists might threaten to use nuclear, chemical and germ warfare weapons and try to seize nuclear or other industrial installations, he said.
Technological terrorism is enhanced by "generally available information on nuclear physics and technologies and on poisonous substances and the possibility that terrorists might steal, purchase or capture various nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction," Ivanov said.
"Terror with the use of weapons of mass destruction might target the civilian population, the transport network, the nuclear complex and government offices," Ivanov said. Terrorists might stage explosions in nuclear stations, nuclear waste storages or place containers with radioactive waste in densely populated areas," he said.
However, the access to fissionable materials is restricted, and terrorists will try to get hold of "more accessible weapons of mass destruction," Ivanov went on. "At present terrorists are most likely to use chemical and biological weapons," he stressed.
"It is quite easy to acquire or produce components of such weapons, create a sufficient number of them and secretly use them in large cities, which may produce catastrophic consequences," the minister noted. ap rm