An FBI whistleblower has revealed that US government officials sold nuclear weapon secrets to foreign costumers on the black market.

Sibel Edmonds, a former Turkish language translator for the FBI, said during hours of covert tape recordings she heard that one well-known senior official in the US State Department was passing foreign operatives highly classified information, from the State Department and the Pentagon, The Sunday Times reported.

Edmonds said she heard many conversations during which the US official arranged to pick up huge amounts of money in exchange for secret packages that were dropped at agreed locations and added that there were several such transactions of nuclear material every month.

According to one of the CIA sources the Turks had acquired nuclear secrets from the United States and shared the information with Pakistan and Israel.

The former FBI translator said Pakistani agents were among the eventual buyers and added that members of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) or Pakistan's spy agency were close to al-Qaeda before and after the 9/11.

Indeed, General Mahmoud Ahmad, the head of the agency was accused of sanctioning a $100,000 wire payment to Mohammed Atta, one of the 9/11 hijackers, immediately before the attacks.

Edmonds added that when after 9/11 foreign operatives were taken in for questioning, the State Department official said "We need to get them out of the US because we can't afford for them to spill the beans."

The four suspects on the list were released from interrogation and extradited from the country immediately afterwards.

The report added the name of the official, who has held a series of top government posts, is known to The Sunday Times; however, he strongly denies the claims.

CS/RE