ICC Note: Last year, radioactive material was stolen in Iraq.  Although authorities confirmed the theft, no reports indicate that ISIS has been able to acquire the material.  Radioactive material can be used to make weapons of mass destruction, if acquired by people with resources to utilize the elements for such purposes.  The large populations of persecuted minorities throughout Iraq would be in grace danger if ISIS were to acquire radioactive material.  Iraqi security officials have been unable to cite any further details on the incident citing national security concerns. 

2/18/2016 Iraq (Reuters) – Iraq is searching for “highly dangerous” radioactive material stolen last year, according to an environment ministry document and seven security, environmental and provincial officials who fear it could be used as a weapon if acquired by Islamic State.

The material, stored in a protective case the size of a laptop computer, went missing in November from a storage facility near the southern city of Basra belonging to U.S. oilfield services company Weatherford WFT.N, the document seen by Reuters showed and officials confirmed.

A spokesman for Iraq’s environment ministry said he could not discuss the issue, citing national security concerns.

Weatherford said in a statement that it was not responsible or liable for the theft. “We do not own, operate or control sources or the bunker where the sources are stored,” it said.

The material, which uses gamma rays to test flaws in materials used for oil and gas pipelines in a process called industrial gamma radiography, is owned by Istanbul-based SGS Turkey, according to the document and officials.

An SGS official in Iraq declined to comment and referred Reuters to its Turkish headquarters, which did not respond to phone calls and emails.

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