ISIS nuke attack feared as world leaders meet to plan for terror catastrophe

WORLD leaders are rallying in a bid to prepare the world for a nuclear terror attack, amid fears ISIS have got their hands on atom bombs.

TERROR THREAT: World leaders are in Washington to prepare a response to a nuclear attack

David Cameron has joined other leaders at the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC to thrash out a global response to the nightmare scenario.

And already the UK and USA have agreed to run joint exercises, bracing the West for a cyber attack targeting nuclear power plants and radioactive waste.

Now it's thought ISIS lone wolf attacks could be a smokescreen distracting security services from plans for an apocalyptic atrocity in Europe.

CATASTROPHIC: It's feared ISIS could hack into our nuclear power systems

It follows reports that Belgian brothers Ibrahim and Khalid El Bakraoui – two of Brussels suicide bombers – filmed a top nuclear official at a Flanders facility.

Authorities in Belgium have also confirmed that the Paris attack terrorists filmed a nuclear power plant boss using a camera hidden in the bushes outside his home.

While a chilling report warned terrorists could pose a nuclear threat to the West in three ways, with the worst scenario being the "catastrophic" detonation of a nuke.

They could also try to sabotage a nuclear facility or use a dirty bomb to spread radioactive material, said Harvard researcher Matthew Bunn in his report, Managing the Atom.

EVIL: Islamic State could soon be armed with nuclear weapons

"The radiation from a dirty bomb, by contrast, might not kill anyone—at least in the near term—but could impose billions of dollars in economic disruption and cleanup costs," he writes.

"The effects of sabotage of a nuclear facility would depend heavily on the specific nature of the attack, but would likely range between the other two types of attack in severity.

"The difficulty of achieving a successful sabotage is also intermediate between the other two."

The report looks into ways to tighten up security at nuclear sites as well as protecting hospitals and industrial sites in a desperate bid to stop such attacks.

It says: "Making a crude nuclear bomb would not be easy, but is potentially within the capabilities of a technically sophisticated terrorist group, as numerous government studies have confirmed."

The UK has committed to spending £10million this year beefing up security standards around nuclear plants and waste facilities.

A government source said there was no credible evidence jihadis were targeting British facilities, but they were taking no chances.

They said: "You saw just last week in Belgium the concerns that were raised around the security of civil nuclear sites.

"Therefore, in the world in which we currently live, we think it's the right thing to do."