The Met are ‘aware’ of an apparent threat from ISIS against stadiums hosts the Champions League games this week – while authorities in Spain and France say they are ‘on alert’.
The Al Azaim Foundation, a media outlet responsible for spreading messages from the terrorist group, shared a message threatening an attack on all four quarter-finals this week.
This includes the Emirates Stadium in London, which hosts Arsenal against Bayern Munich tonight, and the Santiago Bernabeu – where Man City takes on Real Madrid.
The post – captioned ‘kill them all’ – also mentions the Parc des Princes in Paris and the Metropolitano in Madrid – both of which will host matches tomorrow.
Police in Madrid have activated all their ‘warning’ and ‘reaction systems’ following the alleged terrorist threat, while French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said security will be ‘significantly strengthened’ at the Parc des Princes tomorrow.
UEFA said it was aware of the threats but said the matches would go ahead as planned “with appropriate security arrangements”. A spokesperson for the Met Police told MailOnline that the force was ‘aware’ of the threat.
Islamic State has threatened to kill fans in London, Paris and Madrid in the coming days
ISIS has reportedly threatened to attack the four stadiums hosting the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, including the Emirates. Pictured is a file photo of the police outside the ground
Former police officer Norman Brennan said British security services and police would also respond to the alleged threat depending on how credible they thought it was.
He told MailOnline: ‘MI5, MI6 and the Met’s counter-terror team monitor everything and everyone linked to terrorism, including threats of attack.
‘They are very much at the forefront of this sort of thing and will have plans depending on how seriously they view the treat.
“They will be an increased security presence with cameras and cars, while people linked to ISIS are monitored.
‘Everyone will be alert, while people can continue with their lives. We cannot have terrorists determining how we behave.”
The Spanish government activated its security procedures for the Champions League double-header this week.
It is believed that more than 3,000 security officers have been assigned to the matches in Spain: Real Madrid versus Manchester City and Atletico versus Borussia Dortmund.
This reportedly includes more than 2,000 National Police and Guardia Civil officers, who will position themselves in the Spanish capital over the next 24 hours.
Just over 8,000 Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund fans are expected to travel to Spain for the matches taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
The head of the Ministry of the Interior, Fernando Grand-Marlaska, said on Tuesday morning: “In terms of preventing the terrorist threat, the state security forces and bodies have activated all their early warning and protection systems, as well as all their response mechanisms. ready and willing.’
He further emphasized that all safety protocols have been adopted to ensure the safety of both the players and fans in the stadiums.
Islamic State’s latest attack took place on March 22 on the Crocus City Hall, a major concert hall in Moscow.
The Stade de France was targeted by ISIS-supporting suicide bombers in 2015. The photo shows spectators streaming onto the field after explosions occurred outside the arena
Firefighters and rescue workers evacuate an injured person near the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris, on November 14, 2015
Several men stormed the building dressed in camouflage and killed 143 people, injuring another 200.
The threat from ISIS will also bring back terrifying memories of 2015, when the French national stadium was hit by a series of coordinated attacks in the French capital, killing 130 people and injuring hundreds.
Three people were killed and several others injured when two suicide bombings and a bomb attack occurred near Stade de France during the friendly match between France and Germany on November 13, 2015.
The series of attacks began inside the stadium after the suicide bombers failed to enter the arena itself. The sounds of the explosions were picked up by microphones during live coverage of the match.
As safety fears grew, thousands of spectators were evacuated to the field as the players watched from the tunnel. The German team stayed at the stadium overnight before returning to Frankfurt early Saturday morning.
Another group of attackers later opened fire in busy cafes and restaurants in the city, with one detonating an explosive, killing himself at the same time.
A third group of terrorists then carried out the most deadly attack of the night: a mass shooting at the Bataclan theater where 1,500 people were attending a performance.
There the gunmen took hostages, leading to a confrontation with police before they were shot or detonated their suicide vests.
Of the 130 people who died that night, 90 were killed in the Bataclan. Another 416 people were injured, almost 100 seriously. Seven of the attackers were also killed.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in response to French airstrikes on ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq.
At its height in 2015, the self-proclaimed caliphate ruled over an area with an estimated population of 12 million people on whom it imposed an extremist interpretation of Islamic law, while maintaining a military force of 30,000.
However, ISIS was largely defeated in the Middle East in 2019 at the hands of American, Iraqi and Kurdish forces, which drove ISIS out of the areas it controlled.
The defeat of the caliphate has forced the group to resort to insurgency tactics, although it still maintains a significant presence in Africa.
A view shows the Crocus City Hall concert hall burning after an ISIS attack on March 22
ISIS news agency Amaq has released a sickening 90-second selfie video of the attack on Moscow last month, which is too graphic for MailOnline to share
In another sign of the Islamic State’s resurgence, police in Iran announced on Saturday the arrest of one senior associate of the group – along with two other members of the group accused of planning a suicide bombing during next week’s celebrations to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Police said Mohammad Zaker, known as ‘Ramesh’, and the other two were arrested in Karaj, west of the capital Tehran, after clashes, Iranian media reported. Eight others who accompanied the men were also arrested, they said.
Islamic State, which harbors a virulent hatred of Iran’s dominant Shiite sect, claimed responsibility in January for two explosions in Iran that killed nearly 100 people and injured dozens at a memorial marking the fourth anniversary of the assassination of top commander Qassem Soleimani in Iraq. in 2020 by an American drone.
Iran arrested 35 people in January, including a commander of the Afghanistan-based Islamic State branch ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K), whom it said was linked to the January 3 twin bombings in the southeastern city of Kerman.