Russian Jet Was Not Blown Up By IS - Investigators

Russian Jet Was Not Blown Up By ISIS - Investigators

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The Egyptian authorities have said that their investigators have not found any evidence which proves that a terrorist attack caused a Russian jet to crash in Egypt in October, killing 224 people.

The plane came down en route to Russia from the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh in the Sinai peninsula.

A group linked to so-called Islamic State, commonly known as ISIS, said it bombed the plane. Nearly all the victims were Russian citizens.

Russia has said that a bomb brought down the Metrojet Airbus after finding what it said were “traces of foreign explosives” amongst the debris.

The Russian government subsequently vowed to find and punish the perpetrators of the disaster.

In response to Monday’s findings, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “our experts concluded this was a terrorist attack”.

Russia suspended all flights to Egypt after the attack in a move which was coped by other countries.

However, the head of the Egyptian committee investigating the crash, Ayman al-Muqaddim, was quoted by state TV on Monday as saying there was “no evidence that there is an act of terror or illegal intervention.”

But while the latest from Egypt’s investigation contradicts previous statements, the vague wording of the statement made by el-Muqadam indicates more information may be forthcoming.

The IS-affiliate Sinai Province said it had destroyed the plane in response to Russian air strikes on Syria.

Last month, a propaganda magazine for IS, Dabiq, published a photo of what it claimed was the improvised bomb that brought down the airliner.

The photo in Dabiq shows a soda can and what appears to be a detonator and a power source. Credit: Dabiq

The picture showed a Schweppes Gold can and what appeared to be a detonator and a switch.

The crash dealt another blow to Egypt’s vital tourism industry, already struggling after years of unrest. Egypt’s tourism minister told Reuters earlier this month that tourism revenues for 2015 will be at least 10% below last year’s.