The British government and U.S. intelligence agencies suggested Wednesday that last week’s crash of Metrojet Flight 9268 in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula was most likely caused by a bomb, though a formal conclusion on the cause of the crash has not yet been reached.
CNN, citing an unnamed U.S. official, reported that American intelligence suggests that a bomb had been planted by the Islamic State (ISIS) group or one of its affiliates. “There is a definite feeling it was an explosive device planted in luggage or somewhere on the place,” the official was quoted as saying.
The U.S. assessment was reached based on intelligence from both before and after the crash. And although the United States had no credible intelligence of a specific threat prior to the crash, “there had been additional activity in Sinai that had caught our attention,” the official said.
The official added that no formal conclusion has been reached yet on the cause of the crash, which resulted in the deaths of all 224 people on board. The aircraft was flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg.
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