Islamic State published photo of soda can bomb that allegedly brought down

On Tuesday, the head of the Russian Federal Security Service said the plane was downed by a bomb estimated to contain 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of explosives.

In addition, the Egyptian Civil Aviation minister, Hossam Kamal, said during the same press conference that ” So far, the inquiry commission has not found any result as to the real cause of the tragedy”. Other photos appear to show the wreckage of the plane, as well as passports, allegedly stolen from the deceased, who are called “dead crusaders” by ISIS.

It was originally reported that the bomb had been stored in the plane’s cargo compartment, but according to Russian news website Kommersant, this is not the case.

The Islamic State, which has overrun a swath of Syria and Iraq, said it took advantage of a security weakness at Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh airport to get the bomb on the plane. President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian missile cruiser Moskva, which is deployed in the Mediterranean, to cooperate with the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.

The group’s claims have not been verified, but the improvised bomb fits with the details of the investigation released by Russian authorities. Most of those onboard were Russian tourists.

Viktor Poplavsky, an explosives expert from the Russian defence ministry told Russian television that the device shown was “very simple if you know how to connect the timer”.

Meanwhile, Russian Federation said its planes were targeting oil tankers belonging to ISIL in Syria, as Moscow seeks to ratchet up pressure on the jihadists.

May also cited another, “most likely” scenario for moving such a bomb through an airport: “An insider threat getting this item, circumventing security, getting it to the aircraft – if it was used on the aircraft”, May said.

“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 nature of the explosives and trigger device was not disclosed by the Islamic State.

“Attacking one of Assad’s primary backers helps improve the group’s domestic image” against accusations that it is not fighting the regime, he said.