Fears of terror attack at Olympics after extremist group pledges allegiance to ISIS

A BRAZILIAN Jihadist group has pledged allegiance to ISIS just weeks before the Olympic Games are due to take place in Rio de Janeiro.

It is believed to be the first pledge to the group to come from South America.

According to extremist monitoring group SITE Intelligence, a channel on the Telegram app called Ansar al-Khilafah #Brazil has posted a message of support for Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The group called itself “Brazil Caliphate” and asked: “What benefit French operations against ISIS in Syria have yielded? Has this not radicalised more Muslims to take revenge?

They added: “If French soldiers failed to prevent a terror attack happening in France, of what use will they be in trying to train Brazilian police?”

Brazilian and French law enforcement have held joint training and drills in recent years, as both countries have hosted national events such as the World Cup and the Olympics.

In early July, the Brazilian Minister of Justice, Alexandre Moraes, said a Jihadist attack on the Rio Olympics was a “possibility” but “not a probability”.

Some 85,000 members of security forces – 47,000 policemen and 38,000 soldiers – will be mobilised to ensure the safety of 10,500 athletes as well as up to 500,000 officials, journalists and tourists expected for the Games, which run from August 5-21.

France was last week informed of a planned terror attack on its team at the Games, according to the head of military intelligence.

The plans were revealed by General Christophe Gomart, head of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM), at a parliamentary commission in May investigating the attacks in Paris in January and November last year, which left 147 people dead.

In the report on the planned Rio attack, Gomart told the commission that he had been informed of the plot – planned by a Brazilian national – “by our partners”.

No other details on the claims were made available by the French authorities.