WASHINGTON, Aug 24: The United States plans to remove weapons-grade uranium from 24 sites spread across 16 countries around the world to prevent it from falling into the hands of terrorists, senior State Department officials said on Friday.

Officials from the United States, Russia, and Yugoslavia on Thursday transferred some highly-enriched uranium from the Vinca nuclear research institute near Belgrade to a facility in southern Russia.

“The institute had enough uranium to make two nuclear weapons. Russia has agreed to blend it down for use as a conventional nuclear fuel,” one official said.

“There are 24 similar sites in 16 different countries around the world, and we are working on a project for removing enriched uranium from all these places as well,” he added.

The officials refused to name the countries or disclose the locations for fear terrorists could take advantage of this information. They, however, said that the United States was already negotiating with the host governments for removing the material, as it was a threat to world security.

They said the United States wanted to act before the terrorists and secure these sites so that the world does not have to face nuclear terrorism.

They said the operation to remove uranium from Vinca was also kept highly secret and that “even those taking part in it did not know the full picture.”

More than 1,200 Yugoslav police and troops took part in the operation, setting up three separate routes to the airport to conceal the nature of the operation. The material — 5,046 rods of weapons-grade uranium — was loaded on a Russian jet waiting at the Belgrade airport and flown to the Dmitrovgrad nuclear fuel reprocessing plant about 500 miles east of Moscow.

“We are extremely happy with this joint effort to prevent nuclear material from falling into wrong hands,” the State Department said.

Russia’s Atomic Energy Ministry also issued a similar statement in Moscow, calling the joint operation a “splendid example of U.S.-Russian cooperation in the fight against terrorism.”

The former Soviet Union had supplied the fuel to the Vinca institute in 1976 for nuclear research. Another State Department official said the fuel had been lying at the facility for more than two decades; the institute now conducts research on radioactive material only and does not need highly enriched uranium.

The joint project was financed by the State Department, which provided nearly $3 million in funding, $2 million of which came from its Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund for packing, transportation and security.

The U.S. Department of Energy provided funds and technical expertise for blending down the materials in Russia.

“Key to the project’s success was a donation of $5 million from the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a nongovernmental organization foundation co-chaired by Ted Turner and (former) Senator Sam Nunn,” the State Department said. The organization funds projects for removing radioactive hazards.

Praising “the outstanding cooperation of Serb and Yugoslav officials,” the State Department expressed hope that Yugoslav scientists and technicians have gained useful experience that will enable them to participate in similar projects in the future.