ISIS releases photograph of tiny IED used to bring down Russian airliner

Writing at Long War Journal, Bill Roggio reports that no sooner had Russian officials admitted that an explosive device had downed Metrojet flight 9268 than the Islamic State responded by publishing photographs and details surrounding the attack.

Included in their "press release" were photographs of the crash site, passports reportedly recovered from the scene, and a depiction of the IED smuggled aboard.

All 224 passengers and crewmembers perished when the device detonated and brought the airliner down in the Sinai desert.

The photograph of the IED is captioned “EXCLUSIVE: Image of the IED used to bring down the Russian airliner.” The Russian passports, which are superimposed on wreckage of the airliner, appears to have been taken from a news agency. It is unclear how the Islamic State would obtain passports from the crash scene, which was heavily guarded.

The bomb appears simple in design: a soda can, presumably packed with explosives, a detonator, and an electronic trigger. The nature of the explosives and trigger device was not disclosed by the Islamic State. Yesterday, Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia’s Federal Security Service, said that the bomb had a “capacity” equivalent “of up to 1 kg [2.2. pounds] of TNT.”

...[ISIS wrote:] “The divided crusaders of the East and West thought themselves safe in their jets as they cowardly bombarded the Muslims of the Khilāfah,” or the “caliphate” in Iraq and Syria, where the Islamic State is based.

“But Allah decreed that punishment befall the warring crusaders from where they had not expected,” the article continued. “Thus, the blessed attacks against the Russians and the French were successfully executed despite the international intelligence war against the Islamic State. Both crusader nations had undoubtedly destroyed their homes with their own hands through their hostilities towards Islam, the Muslims, and the Muslim body of the Khilāfah.”

...The Islamic State then threatened further attacks on the West, and said that the recent attack in Paris and against the Russian airliner is merely the beginning ... “Muslims today have a loud, thundering statement, and possess heavy boots. They will cause the world to hear and understand the meaning of terrorism, and boots that will trample the idol of nationalism, destroy the idol of democracy, and uncover its deviant nature.”

I guess Obama is right. I don't get the sense that Islam has anything to do with all of these ISIS terror attacks.


Hat tip: BadBlue Real-Time News.