US comfortable with level of security at Pak nuclear sites

"We are comfortable with the level of security of the Pakistani forces (at the nuclear sites)," Defence Secretary Robert Gates said when asked about the safety and security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

His comments assume significance in the wake of a UK-based expert claiming that Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorists have attacked nuclear sites in Pakistan at least thrice in the last two years.

However, Pakistan rubbished the reports and said there was "absolutely no chance" that the country's nuclear weapons could fall into terrorist hands.

The Defence Secretary said there seems to a broad political support for the Pakistan military operations against Taliban and other militants in the western parts of the country.

The political support is "more than any one would have expected six months ago", Gates said.

"I think that this change of attitudes and the success of the Pakistani forces clearly serve our interest, as well as it serves the interests of the Pakistanis," he said.