Islamic State is a joke, man

Bougherra, 32, a defender, had spells with English sides Crewe Alexandra, Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic before moving to Glasgow Rangers in 2008 for £2.5-million, said Daily Mail. File photo
Image by: PIERRE ALBOUY / REUTERS

It is the start of one of the more unusual jokes: "So Islamic State walks into a café..."

Here is the punchline: A professional footballer was kidnapped, taken to the desert and told he was about to be executed - only to learn he was being pranked on TV.

Britain's Daily Mail reported on its website that Algerian international Madjid Bougherra was relaxing in a café with a friend when "armed extremists" burst in and forced him to the ground at gunpoint.

Amazingly, Bougherra appeared calm even as other customers were forced into a cupboard.

He and his friend were then blindfolded, driven to a remote location in the desert and made to kneel in the sand, not knowing if they would be shot or beheaded.

After it was revealed that the terrorists were really actors and his friend was in on the prank, Bougherra was filmed chasing his friend around the desert.

Bougherra, 32, a defender, had spells with English sides Crewe Alexandra, Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic before moving to Glasgow Rangers in 2008 for £2.5-million, said Daily Mail.

At present, Bougherra plays for Al-Fujairah in the UAE Arabian Gulf League.

The prank was filmed for the TV show Camera Cache in Algeria, which remains on high alert over the perpetual threat posed by terrorist groups.