The Times: Radiation rockets on sale to ‘terrorists’

THREE radioactive rockets capable of contaminating a city centre were offered for sale last week to a Sunday Times reporter posing as a middleman for Islamic terrorists. The Alazan rockets, which have a range of eight miles, were among 50,000 tons of weapons left behind at an arms dump in the breakaway eastern European republic of Transdniester when the Russian army withdrew after the cold war....Entering the enclave is like stepping into a black and white film. At its unrecognised border with Moldova, guards in shabby black uniforms require visitors to pay the equivalent of 26p. They are greeted by statues of Lenin and banners with patriotic slogans such as: “The Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic: the People’s Pride.”....Dimitri told him he could bring an expert to check it with a Geiger counter, “but only one person will be allowed to see the rocket”. Asked about the material inside the warhead, he said it contained caesium and strontium. It was agreed that the inspection would take place on May 2 in Ribnitsa, a small town in northern Transdniester.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1602963,00.htmlLenta.ru: http://www.lenta.ru/news/2005/05/08/alazan/