The odds that terrorists will attack a major city somewhere in the world using weapons of mass destructions are higher than ever, a top US panel said in a report to be released this week. The study warns of growing threats from rogue states and atomic smuggling networks.

The assessment of such treats singled out Pakistan as a grave concern because of its terrorist networks, history of instability and arsenal of several dozen nuclear warheads. Therefore, Pakistan was named one of the top security priorities for the coming Obama administration. At the same time, the panel urges the Obama administration to work with Pakistan to secure its nuclear and biological materials and constrain a “nascent nuclear arms race in Asia.”

“In our judgment, America's margin of safety is shrinking, not growing,” said the draft report.

The report suggests that terrorists are more likely to obtain materials for a biological attack than to buy or steal nuclear weapons. “Without greater urgency and decisive action by the world community, it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013,” says the draft report, according to the Washington Post.

The panel calls for coordinated international efforts to discover and disrupt smuggling rings that traffic in atomic technology, as well as for more robust inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

To conclude, the panel, the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, said it is more likely that a terror attack will take place by the end of 2013.