MOSCOW/WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Moscow suspended passenger flights to Egypt and Washington imposed new air travel security requirements in the wake of the crash of a Russian jet in Egypt, as Western officials pointed yesterday to the conclusion it was brought down by a bomb.
A group affiliated with Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the crash of an Airbus A321 operated by a Russian carrier on Saturday bringing holidaymakers home from a resort on Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
All 224 people on board were killed in what the militants described as revenge for Russian air strikes in Syria that began more than a month ago.
While no official investigation has confirmed that claim of responsibility, countries have been cancelling flights and announcing new precautions, leaving tens of thousands of European and Russian tourists stranded in Red Sea resorts.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced new security measures on Friday, including tighter screening of items before they are brought on board aircraft, for flights to the United States from some foreign airports in the region.
U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron have already said the crash might have been caused by a bomb. Moscow initially rebuked Western countries for drawing such conclusions too quickly. But President Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend Russian flights suggests the Kremlin is no longer trying to avert attention from that theory.
The sound of an explosion could be heard on the black boxes recovered from the plane, according to an investigator who had access to them, French TV station France 2 said on its website. The investigator ruled out engine failure, it added.
British and U.S. spies intercepted “chatter” from suspected militants as well as internal communication about the incident from one other government that suggested a bomb, possibly hidden in luggage in the hold, had downed the airliner, Western intelligence sources said.
The intelligence sources, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, said the evidence was not categorical and there was still no hard forensic or scientific evidence to support the bomb theory.
“We still cannot be categorical but there is a distinct and credible possibility that there was a bomb,” one source said.
Decisions by Britain and other European countries to suspend flights to Sharm al-Sheikh left tens of thousands of tourists stranded in one of the most popular destinations for European holidaymakers seeking winter sunshine. Moscow’s decision to follow suit on Friday adds tens of thousands more.
Tour companies were trying to mount an operation to bring British holidaymakers home with only hand baggage and fly their luggage separately, but Cairo restricted the number of flights, saying Sharm al-Sheikh airport could not cope with the numbers.
