EILAT, Israel – An Islamic State militant writing in a closed encrypted instant messaging group joked that the terrorist organization should ask beverage companies to serve as corporate sponsors for the group’s next major attack.
The jest was made at the expense of the Saint Petersburg-bound jet that crashed in the Sinai in October. Egyptian and Russian teams are still endeavoring to establish whether it was brought down by an act of terror.
In the wake of the crash, the Egyptian affiliate of ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. They used their official magazine to publish a picture of the explosive device allegedly used in the attack – a Schweppes Gold beverage can (pictured above).
Breitbart Jerusalem obtained a copy of a sarcastic message (pictured right) about the beverage company posted in a private Telegram group used by ISIS militants and Islamist supporters.
Telegram is an encrypted instant message service that has been used by terrorist groups in the past, with multiple accounts reportedly shut down for terrorist associations.
On Monday, Abu Fadel Aliraqi, who identifies himself as an ISIS militant based in Iraq, sent the following message on Telegram:
I have an idea. We all know that the Gold drink company [Schweppes] got a lot of publicity thanks to Islamic State’s announcement that they use their cans for ammunition. I suggest that next time ISIS wishes to blow up a plane, it should publish a tender among beverage companies and choose a can produced by the highest bidder.
Meanwhile, Egyptian authorities said last week that early results of a civil administration inquiry determined that investigators have “so far not found anything indicating any illegal intervention or terrorist action” in relation to the Russian authorities, on the other hand, continue to believe the plane was downed in a deliberate act of terrorism.
Russia imposed flight restrictions on planes flying to Egypt until Cairo proves that security has been beefed up.
With tens of thousands of visits per year, the number of Russian tourists in Sinai has been among the highest of all nations. Attacks carried out by Islamic State have delivered a heavy blow to the Egyptian economy. Tourism accounted for 11 percent of its GDP, an annual revenue of $12 billion, and 15 percent of overall employment in the country.