Belgium to issue iodine pills to its entire population, just in case Muslims attack a nuclear reactor

(NBC) Belgium is to issue iodine tablets to its entire population as part of a revised nuclear emergency plan, a measure unveiled just months after it emerged that ISIS-linked bombers spied on a top scientist and hoped to build a "dirty bomb."

A dose of iodine, which helps to limit the effects of radiation on the body, will be made available to all 11 million people in the small country, Health Minister Maggie De Block told reporters Thursday.

The move, which has yet to be finalized by officials, was triggered by a review of emergency plans initiated in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan, De Block said.

However, it also follows the discovery in that a senior researcher at a Belgian center which produces a significant portion of the world's supply of radioisotopes had been spied upon by a terror cell.

Secret film of the scientist was found Nov. 30 during a raid on the home of Mohamed Bakkali, an ISIS-linked suspect who has since been charged with involvement in the Paris attacks that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more.

Last month it emerged the film was recorded by brothers Khalid and Ibrahim El Bakraoui, who were among the bombers responsible for the March terror attacks in Brussels.

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