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In the latest developments, Russia and Egypt have urged excess caution over the suggestions which led to the conclusion that a Russian airliner that crashed in Sinai recently, incurring the lives of 224 passengers, might have been bombed.
Russia stated that such theories were mere “speculation”, while Egypt said there was “no evidence” yet to support them. US and UK officials say intelligence suggests the plane may have been bombed. The UK has ‘suspended’ flights to-from Sharm El-Sheikh. Militants linked to Islamic State have claimed they brought the plane down.
The Metrojet Airbus 321, bound for St. Petersburg, crashed in Egypt’s Sinai desert, just 23 minutes after take-off from Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday. Most of those on board the plane were of Russian nationality.
“We cannot be certain that the Russian airliner was brought down by a terrorist bomb, but it looks increasingly likely that that was the case,” remarked UK Prime Minister David Cameron. He and the Russian President Vladimir Putin have spoken by phone, according to a Kremlin statement.
Putin stressed the importance of using data from “the ongoing official investigation,” to assess the causes of the incident, the statement said.
“Intercepted communications” have led the US to conclude tentatively that the Russian plane may have been downed by a bomb planted by the IS affiliate Sinai Province, an official told in his statement to the media.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier said any explanations being put forward “seem like unverified information or some sort of speculation”. Egypt’s Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal said investigators had “as yet no evidence” to confirm a bomb attack.
Egypt is leading the investigation, with the help of Russian and other foreign experts. They will examine the wreckage for traces of explosives, but would not reach their first conclusions for a few months, said Alexander Neradko, head of Russia’s aviation agency.
