CAIRO • The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) yesterday said it had killed a Chinese and a Norwegian. The news, which it carried in its magazine, was accompanied by what appeared to be pictures of the dead men, with a banner reading "executed". In a previous issue of Dabiq, ISIS' magazine, the group said the two captives were "for sale".

In September, Norwegian Premier Erna Solberg said a Norwegian man had been held hostage in Syria since January, and was believed to be in the hands of ISIS. She said Norway did not intend to pay a ransom for his release.

Ms Solberg did not name the man but said he was in his 40s.
China's Foreign Ministry, also in September, said one of its citizens was believed to be held by ISIS.

The ISIS magazine also said the group had originally planned to bring down a Western plane over Egypt's Sinai area, but changed its target to a Russian one last month after Moscow launched air strikes on ISIS targets in Syria.

"A bomb was smuggled onto the airplane, leading to the deaths of 219 Russians and 5 other crusaders only a month after Russia's thoughtless decision."

The terrorist group said it smuggled the bomb onto the Russian plane after finding a security loophole at Sharm el-Sheikh airport.

The magazine also carried a photo of what it said was the improvised bomb that brought down the Russian plane, killing all 224 people on board. The photo also showed a can of Schweppes Gold soft drink and what appeared to be a detonator and switch against a blue background.

"The divided crusaders of the East and West thought themselves safe in their jets as they cowardly bombarded the Muslims of the caliphate," the magazine said. "And so revenge was exacted upon those who felt safe in the cockpits."

The group also published a photo of what it said were passports belonging to dead Russians "obtained by the mujahideen", referring to Islamist guerilla fighters.

It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the photos.

REUTERS