UN: Nuclear material taken from Iraq’s Mosul University poses no major risk

VIENNA, Austria – The U.N.’s nuclear agency says atomic material has been taken from a university in Iraq in a region controlled by Islamic militants but it does not present a health, safety or proliferation risk.

The International Atomic Energy Agency describes the material as “low-grade” and says its removal from Mosul University does not translate into a “significant” danger of any kind.

The agency says it was notified by Iraqi officials of the seizure of the unspecified material and is seeking further details.

Thursday’s statement gave no further information as to the type and amount of material missing or who the suspected thieves were.

Mosul is in the hands of militants seeking to establish a trans-boundary Islamic state.