Obama says “possibility” of bomb on Russian plane that crashed in Egypt

USA military officials said this week that satellite surveillance had detected a flash of light as the plane was ripped apart, suggesting it had been blown up by a bomb, an explosion caused by a mechanical failure or the ignition of fuel.

His Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said it was “a significant possibility” Daesh was responsible, given a range of information, including the claim of responsibility.

“I don’t think we know yet”, Obama told the Seattle radio station KIRO during an interview broadcast Thursday afternoon.

Britain halted flights to and from Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh airport on Wednesday over concerns a Russian airliner that crashed in the Sinai peninsula may have been brought down by a bomb, AFP reports.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that nothing can be ruled out, “including terrorist involvement”. Anonymous USA officials have indicated it could have been a bomb.

Downing Street said: “The Prime Minister held talks on the situation with president Sisi earlier today and, following further discussions with the airlines and the Egyptians we have agreed on a package of additional security measures that is being put in place rapidly”.

Intercepted communications played a role in the tentative conclusion that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group’s Sinai affiliate planted an explosive device on the plane, a USA official briefed on the matter told Associated Press news agency.

Mr Putin stressed the importance of using data from “the ongoing official investigation”, to assess the causes of the incident, the statement said.

Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi defended security at the airport, insisting it had previously been given the all-clear by the UK.

British airlines Monarch and easyJet said they will fly from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula Friday to bring stranded British tourists back.

Speaking after his meeting with Cameron, el-Sissi said the two countries were “working intensively together in a spirit of close co-operation…to address this and get back to normal as soon as possible”.

Egypt and Russian Federation have called Cameron’s suggestion mere “speculation”.

The decision to suspend flights with immediate effect came after a team of British security experts made an initial security assessment in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Flight KGL9268 was flying at altitude of 30,000 ft (9,150 m) when it lost contact with authorities, 23 minutes after take-off from Sharm el-Sheikh to Russia’s second city.

“We will crush those infidels, we will drive them out of our lands and we will even reach their own lands”, the Russian-speaking IS member says in the video.

Also on Thursday, the first funeral for a victim of the crash was held in Russian Federation. A lot of them were holidaymakers from Russia’s St. Petersburg.