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Bodies of Egypt air disaster delivered to Russian Federation

Satellite data was still being analyzed, and it is unclear whether the flash was due to a bomb or an explosion in the aircraft’s fuel tank or engine due to mechanical failure, the report said.

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Two days after the fatal plane crash over Egypt, the director of USA national intelligence on Monday said he wouldn’t rule out the possibility that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) could shoot down an airliner.

“The speculation that this plane was brought down by a missile is off the table”, the official told NBC News.

His remarks came as a top USA intelligence official said it was “unlikely” IS had been involved in the Kogalymavia airline disaster over the Sinai peninsula that killed 224 people on Saturday.

Smirnov said the company had ruled out a technical fault or human error and that the plane had sustained “significant damage to its construction that did not allow it to continue the flight”. Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi urged caution, but described as “propaganda” claims the militant group ISIL brought down the plane.

Meanwhile, the United States Embassy in Cairo has instructed its staff not to travel anywhere in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula as a “precautionary measure”, pending the outcome of the investigation into the crash. It fell from cruising altitude, broke up in midair, and left debris across 8 square miles, according to Russian and Egyptian officials. Members of ISIS claimed responsibility for downing the plane on Saturday, however USA officials said the group does not possess surface-to-air missiles.

A Reuters photographer saw a white lorry leaving the airport, escorted by police cars, heading for a St Petersburg morgue, where the bodies were to be identified. Metrojet will launch an investigation into the crash to determine the exact cause.

British military analyst Paul Beaver said he thought the crash was most likely caused by a bomb on board, saying he was certain IS does not possess a missile system – such as the Russian BUK – capable of hitting the plane. But Russian officials quickly cautioned that the conclusions were premature.

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The Russian government said more than 100 bodies and dozens of body parts were returned to St. Petersburg early Monday.

Experts begin examining black boxes of crashed Russian jet