Al-Qaeda, Taliban trying to acquire N-weapons: US official

WASHINGTON: Terrorist organisations like al-Qaeda and Taliban are trying to gain access to nuclear weapons, a top US military official has warned.

"Terrorist organisations, al-Qaeda in particular, have been very open and direct about their desire to get a nuclear device and continue to terrorise people in accordance with their strategic approach, killing as many Americans and westerners as they possibly can with a device like that," said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.

"So it is a very dangerous time. Those are very dangerous weapons. And we would like to contain them and see them over time reduced as much as possible," Mullen said in his address to the Junior Statesman Summer School Programme yesterday.

"It becomes all the more important to make sure no new countries are able to acquire it," he said.