If a bomb on board planted by Isis or the Egyptian affiliate of the militant group did bring down the Russian airliner in the Sinai Peninsula last week, it would be very bad news for President Vladimir Putin, in both domestic and foreign policy terms.

Thus far US officials are stressing that it has not come to a firm conclusion that a bomb was responsible. But the fact that US intelligence – as well as its British counterpart – has let it be known it believes that is the most likely explanation is telling in itself.

The crash, in which 224 people died, came barely a month after Moscow began its direct military intervention in Syria. At the time Mr Putin said that Isis was a direct threat to Russia, but acknowledged that retaliation from Islamic extremists was possible. Now, it appears, that fear may have become reality.
Until yesterday, the tightly controlled Russian media was non-committal about the cause of the disaster. Last night, however, a St Petersburg newspaper was said to be reporting that traces of explosive had been found on the bodies of some victim.

Confirmation that a bomb – in all likelihood in retaliation for Moscow’s air strikes against Isis targets in Syria - did bring down the aircraft would for ordinary Russians transform the chaos in the Middle East from a distant headline into a painful immediate reality.

This in turn may damage Mr Putin domestically. For almost two years, the Russian leader has been hugely popular, riding a wave of nationalism fueled by his assertive actions in Ukraine, and now Syria. But proof that the plane was destroyed by a bomb might dent this aura.

Mr Putin could well therefore feel obliged to hit back even harder against Isis in Syria, and closer to home as well.

Some of the group’s recruits have come from the Islamic republics regions in southern Russia – most notably Chechnya where separatist and jihadist groups, some linked to Isis, still operate, despite a sustained crackdown by Moscow in the wake of the Chechen wars of the 1990s.

Bron: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...t-a6721826.html op 05/11/2015

Mening: Ik vind het persoonlijk zeer goed dat Rusland ook wilt vechten tegen IS. Jammer genoeg zien we nu dat dit gevolgen met zich meedraagt. Desalniettemin is het goed dat men actie onderneemt tegen IS. Deze terreurorganisatie heeft onze wereld al te veel problemen bezorgd en moet daarom gestopt worden. Ik begrijp dat dit gemakkelijker gezegd is dan gedaan, maar het heeft naar mijn mening nu wel lang genoeg geduurd. Natuurlijk is het zeer moeilijk om deze terreurorganisatie zomaar te stoppen. We kunnen er niet zomaar een bom op gooien, want ik denk persoonlijk dat IS in alle uithoeken van de wereld volgelingen heeft. Een bijkomende reden is ook dat als we een bom op IS gaan gooien, we ook onschuldige mensen het leven beroven en dat wil men niet. Gewoon afwachten is natuurlijk ook geen optie. Ik denk persoonlijk dat alle wereldleiders eens samen moeten gaan zitten om samen een plan te bedenken. Naar mijn mening kan dit alleen goed aflopen door samen te werken.