Kayode Sesan
Islamic State militants have published a photo which they claim shows the improvised bomb that brought down a Russian passenger jet in Egypt.
The veracity of the image, which was published by Islamic State’s propaganda magazine Dabiq, could not be immediately verified.
It shows a soft drink can and what appears to be a detonator and switch on a blue background.
The Metrojet plane crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula last month, killing all 224 people on board.
Russia has confirmed that the plane was brought down by a bomb, and offered a £33m reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators.
Islamic State said it had initially planned to bring down a plane belonging to a country participating in the U.S.-led coalition bombing it in Syria and Iraq, but it changed course after Moscow started its own air strikes campaign in Syria.
“A bomb was smuggled onto the airplane, leading to the deaths of 219 Russians and five other crusaders only a month after Russia’s thoughtless decision,” it said.
Egypt’s interior minister told a news conference in Sharm al-Sheikh on Tuesday that there was “no information” about security lapses at the airport.
Islamic State’s Egyptian branch, Sinai Province, claimed responsibility for the attack the day it happened but Egyptian officials were quick to dismiss talk of a bomb as premature.
IS claimed it exploited a loophole at Sharm el Sheikh airport, where the jet took off from, in order to smuggle a bomb on board.
The militants said they initially planned to down a plane belonging to a country taking part in the US-led coalition bombing in Syria and Iraq, but changed their target after Russia started its own strikes.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to find and punish those responsible for the Metrojet attack.
Russia’s army general staff says SU-34 bombers have begun carrying out strikes on IS oil infrastructure in Syria.
Moscow has also boosted its intelligence gathering operations in the Middle East, including satellite reconnaissance.
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