WASHINGTON-U.S. spy agencies now believe the preponderance of intelligence about last week’s crash of a Russian passenger plane over Egypt points to a terrorist bombing as the cause, US officials said Sunday.
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“The tasks for experts are: are there traces of explosives on the debris, and if yes, which explosives?” one source was quoted as saying.
Asked to explain the missing 10 per cent, the investigator said: ‘I can’t discuss this now’.
Global passengers departing Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh continue to line up for flights in an attempt to flee the country.
The group’s frontman, Masri, an Egyptian cleric, brokered a pact with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) past year in Syria, the report said.
British tourists waiting to get out of Sharm el-Sheikh following the Government’s decision to end flights to the United Kingdom could experience a delay of “two or three days”, he added.
To determine what caused the final noise on the cockpit voice recorder, investigators may have to pour over each millisecond of sound as they look for clues into what caused the crash, according to Tom Haueter, the former director of aviation safety at the National Transportation Safety Board.
Everyone can sympathise with the frustration felt by thousands of British tourists stuck in Egypt over the tortoise-like arrangements being made to fly them home – misery compounded by envy of the fast-track arrangements that Russian Federation has put in place for its own stranded holidaymakers.
He did not elaborate on the sound on the recording and emphasized that all possibilities were being considered, including an explosion of a lithium battery in a passenger’s luggage or engine fatigue.
USA and British officials have cited intelligence reports as indicating that the October 31 flight from the Sinai resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg was brought down by a bomb on board.
Militants claiming affiliation with Islamic State claimed the attack, however the head of Egypt’s investigation team says no conclusions have been reached about what brought the airliner down.
On Saturday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry accused Western governments of failing to heed Cairo’s calls for aid in its struggle against terrorism.
A Newcastle worldwide Airport said the next scheduled flight into Tyneside is due on Monday.
In St Petersburg yesterday, the victims of the crash were remembered, with the bell of the iconic St Isaac’s Cathedral tolling 224 times in memory of each person killed.
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The success of the attack could inspire them to target British airports next, a former Special Branch officer warned last night.
