Isis threatens Ronaldo, Messi

LONDON. — Fundamentalist group the Islamic State (Isis) has issued an eerie new threat ahead of the World Cup in Russia, this time aimed at soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

In chilling new posters, the Islamic State has threatened to behead Ronaldo and Messi at the World Cup.

According to The Sun, the group is repeating calls for “lone attackers” to strike ahead of the tournament.

It has already made a number of sickening threats as it loses ground in Syria and Iraq, but has increased the violence in its latest campaign. Mocked-up images appear to show Ronaldo and Messi pinned to the ground, their heads held by masked jihadis in a packed football stadium, along with the caption: “Your blood will fill the ground.” The latest threat was revealed by cyber intelligence firm Sixgill, which monitors Islamic State chatter, according to the Mirror. It was released last week on encrypted messaging channel Telegram by a pro-Islamic State group. Earlier this month, the group called on its supporters to launch attacks at the tournament. It made its call to arms in an online propaganda poster showing a knife slashing the World Cup logo, with a French caption translated as “kill them all”.

Previously, Islamic State warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that he would “pay the price for killing Muslims” in a poster showing a jihadist holding an AK-47 inside a packed football arena. The threat was thought to be linked to Russia’s military support for Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad in his fight against the Islamic State.

In March, the Islamic State targeted Messi for the first time in posters showing him kneeling next to a jihadist and detained behind bars. Russian security services are on high alert for an Islamic State-inspired attack on the tournament. — AFP.