The bombing killed all 224 aboard, making it the deadliest attack on a Russian airliner and prompting international scrutiny of airport security in Egypt.
Key Facts
- Total killed
- 224 passengers and crew
- Aircraft type
- Airbus A321-231
- Explosive equivalent
- Up to 1 kg of TNT kg TNT
- Departure airport
- Sharm El Sheikh International Airport
- Destination
- Pulkovo Airport, Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Responsibility claimed by
- Islamic State's Sinai Branch (IS-SP)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
An improvised explosive device, estimated as equivalent to up to 1 kilogram of TNT, was placed aboard the aircraft at Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, reportedly by or on behalf of the Islamic State's Sinai Branch. The bomb was allegedly intended to pressure airlines into suspending flights to and from the airport, exploiting security vulnerabilities at the facility.
On 31 October 2015, Metrojet Flight 9268 departed Sharm El Sheikh bound for Saint Petersburg. Shortly after takeoff, at 06:13 local time, the Airbus A321 exploded over the northern Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board — 212 Russian, four Ukrainian, and one Belarusian passenger, along with a seven-member all-Russian crew. IS-SP claimed responsibility almost immediately via Twitter, video, and a statement from the group's Sinai branch leader.
Russia's Federal Security Service formally declared the incident a terrorist attack on 17 November 2015, and Egyptian president el-Sisi acknowledged terrorism as the cause in February 2016. Multiple countries suspended flights to Sharm El Sheikh and tightened airport security protocols. In March 2020, an Egyptian appeals court controversially ruled the crash was not terrorism and dismissed related lawsuits; no official final report has been issued.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Abu Osama al-Masri.