What Isis said about bringing down the Russian plane with a bomb

The IED Isis says it used to bring down the bomb

A preliminary inquiry into the Russian plane crash in Sinai in October has found no indication of any "illegal or terrorist act". Egypt's chief investigator has said he has not seen any evidence that indicates there was foul play in the downing of the plane. The vaguely worded statement implies that this is not the final conclusion of the investigators - but it would completely contradict the finds of Russia, which said last month that an explosive device had been placed on board the Airbus 321-200. Isis claimed responsibility for the attack in the latest issue of its propaganda magazie Dabiq released on 18 November. Here is how The Independent covered it at the time:

The Isis militant group has released the new edition of its propaganda magazine, in which it claims to reveal how it brought down the Russian jet over Sinai.

The edition of the "Dabiq" magazine, published in English by an Isis media arm, claims the plane was bombed using an improvised explosive device hidden inside a can of Schweppes Gold pineapple juice.

Entitled "Just Terror", the cover displayed an image of one of the victims of the Paris attacks being treated by the emergency services.

And in its foreword, it claimed to reveal how militants "discovered a way to compromise the security at Sharkm el-Sheikh airport" to bring down the Metrojet airliner on 31 October.

In the magazine, whose claims cannot be independently verified, the militant group published an image tagged "Exclusive", apparently showing an improvised explosive device (IED) and the can it was hidden in prior to the bombing.

It also claimed that "after resolving to bring down a plane belonging to a nation in the American-led Western coalition against Isis, the target was changed to a Russian plane".

"A bomb was smuggled onto the airplane," it added, not explaining exactly how - and leaving the implication that it could strike again in the same way.

The magazine emphasises the message that the Russian jet was targeted after Vladimir Putin ordered air strikes inside Syria - a common theme throughout much of the group's recent propaganda.

Further inside the magazine in a section describing "a selection of military operations", Isis purports to justfiy its attack on the airliner.

It says: "This was to show the Russians and whoever allies with them that they will have no safety in the lands and airspace of the Muslims, that their daily killing of dozens in Sham through their air strikes will only bring them calamities, and that just as they kill, they will be killed, by Allah's permission."

Elsewhere in the magazine, the group makes a number of references to the attacks on Paris last Friday. It claims that its "eight knights brought Paris down on its knees" and boasts that France declared a sense of emergency. None of the suspected Paris attackers appear to be mentioned by name.

Published online, it also includes an article allegedly written by captive British journalist John Cantlie, and what is thought to be a new picture of the hostage.

And in an image on the final page of the magazine, Isis claims to have executed a Chinese and a Norwegian captive. The two men were described in the previous issue as "for sale".