In their official English-languge magazine Dabiq this month, Daesh (ISIS) released a photo of the device they claim was used to down the Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai Penlnsula last month, killing all 224 people on board. The image shows a Schweppes soft drink can with a denotator and a switch. (Image via Reddit)
This comes on the heels of Moscow's confirmation Tuesday that a bomb onboard was the determined cause for the crash. Since the incident last month, speculation has soared about how—and if—Daesh carried out the attack.
Here are five things to know.
1. According to explosive experts, a bomb this size could down a plane. A Reuters report Thursday quoted University of Rhode Island chemistry professor Jimmie Oxley, who said a plane could be downed with the device pictured depending on the density of explosives and location of the aircraft, the most vulnerable locations being the fuel line, cockpit and area around the fuselage skin.
2. If true, this would not be the first time an aircraft was downed with such an explosive. Oxley and others compared the crash with the explosion of Pan Am Flight 103, downed by Libyan nationals over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988. In that case, a casette recorder housing a palm-sized bomb was placed in the luggage hold, its explosion tearing a 50 centimeter hole in the fuselage and causing decompression and a subsequent mid-air break-apart.
3. That theory suggests th soda can explosive was on a timer, but opinions diverge. If this crash happened like the one in 1988, experts say the switch and detonator shown in the photo suggests the bomb may have been detonated with a timer rather than a suicide bomber. But other experts quoted by Reuters say the soda can housing raises more questions about whether the device made it onboard through the flight's catering supply.
4. The detonator appears to be commercially-made. This means the device could potentially be traced back to its manufacturer, which could give key insights into how the group finds materials.
