224 people were killed in the crash, but U.S officials are confident that ISIS did not shot down the plane, although the idea of a bomb on board, loaded before takeoff, is taken into serious consideration.
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The BBC, meanwhile, reported that “UK investigators looking at what caused a Russian airliner to crash in Egypt believe a bomb was put in the [luggage] hold prior to take-off”.
Prime Minister David Cameron halted flights to and from Sharm al-Sheikh on Wednesday after intelligence shown to him indicated that it was likely that the Airbus A321 heading towards St Petersburg was brought down by a bomb.
“And I would just say that irrespective of that, their threat in Libya has now grown to an nearly crisis level that’s nearly on par with what we see in Iraq”, Rubio added.
He said: “We have calculated all possible threats”.
Two sources with knowledge of the matter said the bomb may have been hidden in luggage in the hold of the Russian plane. They refused to give any further information.
That, experts said, would mean ISIS will have proved that it has not just ambition but also real reach. “And we are taking that very seriously”. “They are recruiting and expanding all over the world because we have allowed them to maintain their territorial integrity, maintain their caliphate, maintain the claim that they are a legitimate Islamic state”, Santorum told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
If ISIS was able to plant a bomb on the plane, “it’s a real game-changer for the region”, demonstrating that at least a few of ISIS’ grandiose boasts about its capabilities are true, said NBC News national security analyst Kevin Baron, executive editor of security analytics company Defense One.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s call to suspend Russian flights into Egypt is “pretty much acknowledgment” that he considers the downing of a Metrojet to have been a terrorist attack, Rep. Peter King said Friday.
“I have said before, and I really believe it, we will fight then now, or we will fight them later, it’s only a question of time”, Feinstein said. “Above all, this concerns tourist routes”.
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“We’ve got to face facts: either you’re going to pay me now or you’re going to pay me a lot more later”.
