Scientists equipped with radiation detectors hidden in briefcases and golf bags scoured US cities in the run-up to New Year amid fears terrorists were planning to detonate a dirty bomb, it emerged today.
Concerns that terrorists could attack a mass New Year's Eve gathering like that in New York's Times Square or a packed football stadium led to the drastic measures, security sources were quoted as saying.
The search for radioactive bomb material, which focused on Washington, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Baltimore, came as the terror threat level was raised to "high" last month.
The prospect of an attack with a dirty bomb , a device which uses conventional explosives to disperse deadly radiation, remains the nightmare of American security officials.
One counter-terrorism source told the Washington Post: "Government officials are surprised that people aren't more hyped about all this."
To counter the threat, hundreds of nuclear and biological weapons experts are on high alert at military bases around the United States.
They could be dispatched to any danger area, while stockpiles of drugs are also held at bases ready for distribution in the event of an attack.
PA