Russian officials have been skeptical of an Islamic State Sinai affiliate’s claim of responsibility for the crash.
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The Metrojet Airbus A321 crashed in the Sinai Peninsula shortly after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh en route to St. Petersburg.
“There’s got to be a high probability that ISIS was involved”, he added, speaking to CNN and using an alternative acronym for the ISIS network.
A members of Egypt’s investigative team told Reuters that they are 90 percent sure, based on audio recordings of the flight, that the plane was downed by a bomb. The statement did not describe the event, but said an investigation “concluded there was no cause for concern” and it was safe to fly into Sharm el-Sheikh.
The USA and the United Kingdom have both said intelligence points to the strong possibility it was caused by a bomb.
Moscow has yet to formally announce its assessment of the reason for the October 31 crash of the plane, run by Russia’s Kogalymavia airline and filled with mostly Russian tourist families.
Russian Federation is now sending empty planes to evacuate tens of thousands of tourists from Egypt’s Red Sea resorts.
He also said foreign agencies had not shared any intelligence with Egypt that confirmed the existence of a bomb. All passengers, 224, died in the incident and now Russian authorities are flying home the remains of victims for identification.
About 10 special flights have departed for Egypt to bring home about 80,000 Russian tourists now in Egypt, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said Saturday.
The Israeli official did not comment on a prior CNN report claiming Israel’s spy services provided ISIS intercepts gathered in the Sinai to USA and British analysts.
Egypt is heavily reliant on tourism and feared the effect on the industry of any firm determination that a bomb caused the crash.
One week after a passenger plane crashed in Egypt, the investigation into the worst civil aviation disaster in Russian history has become a multinational effort.
“There is a strong probability that this is an attack”, Yaalon said.
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“Initial observations do not allow for identifying the origin of the in-flight break-up” of the aircraft 23 minutes and 14 seconds after it departed Sharm El Sheikh, Ayman El Mokkadem said.
