US, UK officials: Bomb may have downed Russian jet

Associated Press

LONDON

British and U.S. officials said Wednesday they have information suggesting the Russian jetliner that crashed in the Egyptian desert may have been brought down by a bomb, and Britain said it was suspending flights to and from the Sinai Peninsula indefinitely.

Intercepted communications played a role in the tentative conclusion that the Islamic State group’s Sinai affiliate planted an explosive device on the plane, said a U.S. official briefed on the matter. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss intelligence matters publicly.

The official and others said there had been no formal judgment rendered by the CIA or other agencies, and that forensic evidence from the blast site, including the airplane’s black box, was being analyzed.

The official added that intelligence analysts don’t believe the operation was ordered by Islamic State leaders in Raqqa, Syria. Rather, they believe that if it was a bomb, it was planned and executed by the Islamic State’s affiliate in the Sinai, which operates autonomously.

Other officials cautioned that intercepted communications can be misleading and that it’s possible the evidence will add up to a conclusion that there was no bomb.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said there was a “significant possibility” the crash was caused by a bomb, and Britain was suspending flights to and from the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh indefinitely.

Officials in Egypt insist Sharm el-Sheikh airport is safe and say they wished Britain had waited for the result of the ongoing investigation before suspending flights to the airport.

Meanwhile, Adel Mahgoub, the head of Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh airport, has been replaced amid growing concern that a bomb downed the jet.

Mahgoub says airport chief Abdel-Wahab Ali has been “promoted” to become his assistant. He said the move late Wednesday had nothing to do with media skepticism surrounding the airport’s security. Mahgoub said Ali is being replaced by Emad el-Balasi, a pilot.