Russia is facing a ‘very real THREAT’ from ISIS terror attacks during 2018 World Cup

Alexander Golts, a Russian expert specialising in security, claimed that the month-long event faces a dangerous threat from returning jihadist fighters.

He said: “There is a very real threat of an attack in Russia.

“The authorities say they have succeeded in destroying IS. But several thousand Russians have been taking part in jihadist conflicts and now they are beginning to return to Russia.”

The Federal Security Service claims that roughly 2,900 Russian jihadists fought in Syria while between 2,000 and 4,000 fighters from Central Asia now live in the country.

Threats made regarding the upcoming sporting event occur with regularity on social networks, with many targeting players.

However, Pascal Boniface, the director of the Institute of International Strategic Relations, has brushed off these claims as part of a terrorist plot to “attract attention”.

He added that an attack is a risk at “any global sporting event which attracts cameras and those with a desire to make an impact”.

Mr Boniface also detailed that competing nations are set to join together and work against the impending threat of terror.

He continued: “Every country is sending delegations and the common cause of the fight against terrorists goes beyond any disagreement they might have.”

Federal Security Service (FSB) director Alexander Bortnikov previously declared that numerous attacks were prevented at the Confederations Cup, the warm-up event for the World Cup in June.

Deputy prime minister Vitaly Mutko recently announced that at least £391million (30billion rubles) will be spent on security for the upcoming global sporting event.

Saint Petersburg police have already begun to deploy dogs, that will be used to sniff out explosives on the country’s subway systems.

The 2018 World Cup will take place in Russia from June 14 to July 15, 2018.

As Russia backs President Bashar al-Assad in the ongoing conflict in Syria, it is reportedly training in Syria to fight a future war in space, according to the nation’s ex-military chief.

Deputy Minister of Defence Yuri Boris claimed the Kremlin has already tested more than 600 powerful new weapons against ISIS during the Syrian conflict.

And the military said it is now increasingly using satellite systems in outer space to prepare for future conflicts.

Viktor Bondarev, former Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air and Space Forces, said all future wars would involve the use of space weapons.

Mr Bondarev pointed to the country already using reconnaissance and cruise missile targeting from above the earth.

And he told the Tass news agency: “Over the past two years we’ve mastered the skill of fighting wars in a new way.

“The combat mission in Syria has shown that all future wars will be fought not only in the air but also in space.

“It will be a war of the most advanced technologies.

”It is already clear that it is impossible to turn your back to modern warfare, which relies not only on rifles and machine guns.”