Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a state investigation into the plane crash in Egypt. Illustrative. Photo courtesy of the office of the President of Russia.
ISIS has shocked Paris, bombed Lebanon and now claims to have blown up a Russian airliner—with a soda can. ABC News reported on Wednesday that the ISIS (ISIL) magazine showed an image of the alleged bomb that brought down the jet over Egypt less than three weeks ago, showing a soda can that ISIS claimed was the deadly explosive.
ABC reported that Russia has now confirmed the plane was destroyed by a bomb, saying it had about two pounds of TNT. An American official told ABC that US experts think the bomb photo may not be the real bomb that downed the jetliner, with the official noting it made more sense to keep the weapon secret. Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that the civilized world is in a “fight” with radical Islam.
“It’s difficult for civilized men and women to recognize that our cities, our airways, sometimes our waterways are prowled by beasts that devour the innocent in their way,” said Netanyahu in comments released by his office. “And the forces of civilization, when they realize the severity of this problem, have no option but to unite very clearly and defeat these beasts. The beasts increasingly have a name—it is radical Islam.”
Pointing out that it us extremist Islam that is “doing the killing, the murder, the rape, the burning, the beheadings,” the Israeli leader said, “We must stand together and fight together militant Islam.”
Netanyahu’s office noted that also on Wednesday he expressed his condolences directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the plane bombing. The two leaders also discussed Syria—Israel’s enemy to the north and home to ISIS positions that Russia is claiming to be striking—and planned to bring up the topic again at the upcoming climate conference in Paris.
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, November 18, 2015)