Islamic State (ISIS) militants armed with Russian weapons could commit brutal terror attacks on cruise ships in the Mediterranean, Vice Admiral Clive Johnstone, the UK’s highest naval officer in Nato has warned.
NATO is aware of the fact that the Islamic terrorists group wants to create a maritime arm and use the Mediterranean to freely travel along the North African seaboard, target maritime trade and oil platforms, and control the maritime access, Clive said.
"We know they have had ambitions to go off shore, we know they would like to have a maritime arm, just as Al Qaeda had a maritime arm," UK Vice Admiral was quoted by The Telegraph newspaper.
Cruise liners, oil platforms, container ships in the Mediterranean could be targeted by the militants, he noted.
ISIS, also known as Daesh, recently seized the Libyan coastal city of Sirte, which prompted alarm in Europe.
Tourist or commercial ships are still increasingly at risk, the officer warned.
He added: “There is a horrible opportunity in the future that a misdirected, untargeted round of a very high quality weapons system will just happen to target a cruise liner, or an oil platform, or a container ship.”