Jihadists take hold of 88 pounds of nuclear material in Iraq

Jihadi rebels in Iraq have reportedly taken hold of nuclear material from a university in the northern Iraqi town of Mosul, which is now under the control of the Sunni militants.

Jihadists have reportedly seized almost 88 pounds of Uranium compounds from the Mosul University, which Iraq fears can be used for developing weapons for causing mass destruction in Iraq or abroad.

According to the New York Post, Iraq sent an urgent letter to the United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday, requesting him to provide help for diffusing the threat posed by the incident.

However, the report also added that a UN atomic agency has said that the risk posed by the incident is significantly low because the seized nuclear material is low-grade and therefore, it will be difficult to manufacture a nuclear weapon out of it.

Meanwhile, in a video that surfaced on the internet on Wednesday, Sunni militants clad in black hooded robes have hammered biblical Prophet Jonah's tomb in Mosul to dust, the report added.