US officials: bomb planted in Russian Airbus A321 in Egypt airport

A Russian Airbus 321, carrying 224 people, crashed in a mountainous part of Egypt on November 1, 2015. (AFP photo)

US intelligence officials say a conventional explosive device had been planted in the Russian passenger plane in Egypt, causing the jet to break apart in mid-air last weekend.

Suggesting that ISIL Takfiri terrorists were behind the incident, the officials said the Egyptian airport, from which the Metrojet Airbus A321 took off Saturday, is known for “lax security,” CNN reported.

The airliner crashed crashed in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people on board.

“This airport has lax security. It is known for that," CNN quoted an unnamed official as saying. “But there is intelligence suggesting an assist from someone at the airport."

Another official said that Washington does not believe an explosive device could get past security procedures at the airport.

But he said that whoever was behind the incident took advantage of lax security or had a complicit at the airport.

Remains of the A321 Russian airliner one day after crash in Egypt. (AFP photo)

Egyptian authorities have so far downplayed the possibility of a terrorist attack on the Russian plane. Daesh (ISIL) has claimed responsibility for the crash.

On Wednesday, American and foreign officials suggested that Daesh could have been behind the attack. They previously said the terrorist group could not have developed advanced bomb-making capabilities.

Daesh terrorists control parts of Syria and Iraq. They have been engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control.


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