Egyptian authorities have repeatedly affirmed that they have found no evidence that the Metrojet flight, which took off from Sharm el Sheikh Airport, was the result of a terrorist act.
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While the airline and Interior Ministry of Egypt have both denied that anyone has been detained, the sources tell Reuters that is not the case. Chatter between insurgents in Egypt and IS insurgents in their self-declared caliphate of Raqqa was picked up by U.S. intelligence just after the crash.
Islamic State, the militant group that has seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria, claimed responsibility and said it had smuggled a bomb on board hidden in a soft drink can.
Western countries and Russian Federation have maintained the suspicion the flight was crashed by a bomb planted on board.
According to Reuters, two sources tell the news agency the EgyptAir mechanic had been arrested along with two airport officers and a baggage handler who is suspected of helping the man plant the bomb on the airliner.
A source said: “After learning that one of its members had a relative that worked at the airport, Islamic State delivered a bomb in a handbag to that person. You should probably ask the intelligence services about that”, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Egyptian officials claimed in mid-December that their investigation has thus far found no evidence of terrorism.
Any formal charges or official confirmation that a bomb caused the Airbus A321 to crash could lead to Egypt having to compensate the families of the victims.
The official added state security traced the family connections of all the employees and they were cleared.
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An Interior Ministry source also said no one had been arrested in connection with the crash.
