Russian Officials Identify Terrorist Attack as Cause of Sinai Airplane Crash

Debris from crashed Russian jet lies strewn across the sand at the site of the crash, Sinai, Egypt, 31 October 2015. Photo: EPA

According to Russian officials, the cause of the crash of the Kogalymavia airplane in Egypt's Sinai peninsula on October 31 was a terrorist attack.

The Airbus A321 was conducting flight 9268 between the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh and Saint Petersburg when it crashed in North Sinai shortly after take-off.

None of the 224 people on board, among whom were 217 passengers and seven crew members survived the crash.

There have been speculations about the likely causes of the crash, with US and British intelligence sources suggesting that it was due to a terrorist attack.

Until now, Egyptian and Russian authorities investigating the crash have refrained from making any speculations on the possible causes of the crash.

Alexander Bortnikov, the chief of the Federal Security Service (FSB), announced that traces of foreign explosives were found on debris from the crashed airplane.

According to Bortnikov, a homemade explosive device equivalent of up to one kilogramme of TNT caused the crash, TASS news agency informs.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered security services to concentrate on identifying the perpetrators of the terrorist attack on board the airplane.

A group affiliated to Islamic State (IS) had previously claimed responsibility for bringing down the airplane.

At a press conference shortly after the crash, representatives of Kogalymavia blamed the crash on a midair mechanical impact.

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