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Islamic State Releases Execution Poster Threatening World Cup

Lionel Messi and Neymar (Mike Segar / Reuters)

Islamic State (IS) has issued another threat ahead of the 2018 World Cup, with a photoshopped poster of star footballers Lionel Messi and Neymar being executed.

Both Messi and Neymar are expected to compete at the 2018 World Cup, which Russia will host next summer.

The threat comes days after IS, a terror group banned in Russia, published a poster of Argentinian footballer Messi behind bars crying bloody tears, and an image of an IS fighter and a bomb in front of the Volgograd Arena with the words, “wait for us.”

The new poster features former teammates Messi and Brazilian star Neymar as victims of an IS execution, Sports Illustrated reported Monday. Messi is lying on the ground with his throat slit next to an IS flag, while a kneeling Neymar screams in anticipation of his own execution as an ISIS fighter towers over him.

A caption below reads, “You will not enjoy security until we live it in Muslim countries.”

The image, similar to the earlier poster of Messi, was made by a pro-IS media organization.

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