The ISIS-linked group that claimed to have downed a Russian plane over the Sinai peninsula has surface-to-air missiles smuggled from Libya, but nothing powerful enough to hit a plane at cruising altitude, experts say.
The jihadi group, which calls itself Sinai Province, proved it posed a serious threat to low-flying aircraft when it brought down a military helicopter flying low over the area last year, and they could pose a serious threat to civilian airliners taking off and landing at the region’s airports.
However the Russian plane that came down with the loss of all lives on board this weekend started experiencing problems at a far greater height.
“The Islamic State and (regional) militant groups are not known to have anything that could hit planes at cruising altitude,” said Zack Gold, a regional expert focused on Sinai security. “The only way they could have been responsible is if they managed to get a bomb on the plane itself.”
The group’s claim of responsibility came near the first anniversary of their public pledge of allegiance to Isis. The past year has seen a shift in agenda from the grievances of the local Bedouin population to a more international focus, and an expansion of the recruiting base.
The group, based in the isolated northern Sinai desert, first emerged in 2011 as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (ABM), or Champions of Jerusalem, after the fall of the authoritarian Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak created a security vacuum.