WASHINGTON, November 1. /TASS/. Despite numerous terrorist threats, the Russian government was able to ensure security of millions of football fans during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the US State Department’s annual terrorism report for the year 2018 informed. The report was published on Friday.

"On November 8, Russia’s FSB [Federal Security Service — TASS] Director General Alexander Bortnikov said that in 2018 the FSB and its international partners identified 70 terrorist cells, 38 of which were affiliated with ISIS [Islamic State terrorist group, outlawed in Russia — TASS], across 24 regions of the country," the report noted. "He [Bortnikov] stated that Russian law enforcement detained 777 ‘supporters.’"

"Russian authorities also detected and prevented potential terrorist attacks. For example, from June 14 to July 15 [2018], the Russian Federation held the FIFA World Cup in various cities across the western provinces," the report says. "Despite multitudes of threats in a torrent of online postings from ISIS and lone offenders who may have been mobilized by online propaganda, Russia safeguarded millions of attendees who presented numerous soft target opportunities."