Anadolu Agency
LONDON — The Russian jet that crashed shortly after leaving Sharm el-Sheikh last weekend was “more likely than not” downed by a bomb, according to British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Cameron said that although the investigation into the disaster was not yet complete, he had seen intelligence that made him concerned about terrorist involvement.
All 224 passengers on board the Metrojet Airlines flight bound for St Petersburg, were killed when the plane crashed in the Sinai desert shortly after taking off from the Egyptian resort on Saturday.
On Wednesday evening, Britain suspended all flights to and from Sharm el-Sheikh and advised its citizens not to travel to the resort by air.
In a television interview released to U.K. broadcasters on Thursday afternoon, Cameron said: “We don’t know for certain that it was a terrorist bomb. There’s still an investigation taking place in Egypt. We need to see the results of that investigation.
The plane that crashed was completely destroyed and most of those on board are likely to have died, an Egyptian security officer who had recently arrived at the scene told Reuters.
“The reason we’ve acted before that is because of intelligence and information we have that gave us the concern that it was more likely than not it was a terrorist bomb.”
He added that he would be calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “in a moment or two to discuss the implications with him”. He added that he had “every sympathy” with Egypt, whose economy depends heavily on tourism, and said he wanted to restore flights to Sharm el-Sheikh as soon as possible.
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is due to meet Cameron in London later on Thursday afternoon.
