ISIS to reveal how it downed Russian plane

The Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group’s Egyptian branch has purportedly claimed that it will reveal how it brought down a Russian holiday jet over the Sinai desert last weekend, killing all 217 passengers, including 25 children, and seven crew members.

“We are not obliged to disclose the method we used to bring down the plane but we’ll reveal this when and in the way we think fit,” the ISIS-affiliated Sinai Province said on Wednesday.

The audio message, posted on the Internet, advised experts to check the St. Petersburg-bound plane’s flight recorders and wreckage.

“Then see if you can prove the aircraft was not brought down,” said the message.

It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the message, entitled “We brought it down — now die of rage”.

The message claims the Kogalymavia jet was downed on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of Sinai Province’s declaration of allegiance to the ISIS.

Experts have yet to establish what caused the doomed plane to crash 23 minutes after take-off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

Meanwhile, a bombing claimed by the ISIS on Wednesday killed at least four policemen in Egypt’s Sinai, as investigators pursued their probe of the mysterious Russian airliner crash.

Investigators continued on Wednesday analysing data from the black boxes of the plane, a charter flight operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia.

Authorities in Egypt have warned that the probe could last several weeks or months